The Royal Bank of Canada on Wednesday announced it would acquire Tucker Anthony Sutro and merge it into RBC’s Dain Rauscher unit.
“We’re not happy about losing the [Tucker Anthony Sutro] name or about the dollar valuation that the firm is going out at,” says one Tucker rep, referring to the reported $600 million value of the deal. “We’re taking a wait-and-see attitude, but we’re disappointed. If you don’t want to work for a wirehouse, Tucker Anthony was a great place to be. Now that culture is gone.”
Reps are anxious to see what kind of retention packages are offered and how they “stack up” with competitive deals, the rep adds.
Royal Bank of Canada last January acquired Minneapolis-based Dain Rauscher. Following the RBC transaction, Boston-based Tucker Anthony Sutro, a full-service firm of 1,000 retail brokers mostly located in the Northeast and West Coast, will be changed to RBC Dain Rauscher. RBC Dain Rauscher will continue to be based in Minneapolis, and run by Irving Weiser, Dain’s current chairman, president and chief executive officer.
RBC and Tucker Anthony Sutro say the combination will create the ninth largest full-service securities firm in the United States, with nearly 2,100 retail reps.
The merger is subject to approval by Canadian and U.S. regulators and stockholders of Tucker Anthony Sutro, according to a Tucker spokesperson. The transaction is expected to close in the fall pending approvals.
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