Advisor Group’s acquisition of Ladenburg Thalmann could close as soon as Friday or early next week, according to sources close to the investment banking community.
The transaction process is wrapping up much faster than typically expected, with a number of investment bankers close to the industry assuming the deal’s size and complexity would push the close to an April through June time frame.
Late last month, Ladenburg shareholders voted to approve the deal to merge the two broker/dealer networks. That news came after several shareholders, including Ladenburg's former chairman and biotech billionaire Dr. Phillip Frost, filed suits against the company to block the deal.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority also approved the deal.
Advisor Group penned the deal in November to acquire Ladenburg and its five broker/dealers through a cash merger, creating a b/d network with 11,500 advisors and over $450 billion in assets. At the time, executives said Ladenburg’s b/ds would not be merged with Advisor Group’s.
According to sources close to the deal, Advisor Group’s FINRA filings that were required to close the transaction did not indicate whether the firm would consolidate any of the Ladenburg b/ds, which include Securities America, Triad Advisors, Investacorp, KMS Financial Services and Securities Service Network. This “suggests that if there is any consolidation of the newly acquired firms, it won’t happen right after the transaction closing,” said a source close to the investment banking community.
Investment bankers and third-party recruiters familiar with both firms noted that any post-deal consolidation further down the line would almost certainly keep Securities America and Triad Advisors in their current structures and under existing leadership and brands, given the relative size and brand recognition of those b/ds.
A spokesman for Advisor Group and Ladenburg could not be immediately reached for comment.