Piper Jaffray Cos. said Monday it agreed to buy the municipal bond business of BMO Financial Group, adding another layer of capability to its new financial industries business.
The business, called BMO Capital Markets GKST Inc., is based in Chicago and handles municipal bond sales, trading and originations. Terms were not disclosed.
"GKST and Piper Jaffray have both cultivated a solid institutional business, rich history and client-centric, partnership culture," Brad Winges, head of fixed income services and head of firm investments and trading at Piper Jaffray, said in a statement. "Clients from both firms will benefit from broader product offerings and more robust analytical intelligence across a wider distribution network."
Minneapolis-based Piper Jaffray earlier this year decided to build more capabilities in the financial services industry, adding to its traditional base in the health care, technology, consumer products and industrials sectors.
Last week, it announced the purchase of River Branch Holdings, a boutique investment firm in Chicago that specializes in bank mergers and deals. That came after it picked up five new bankers from Sterne Agee and made new hires in research and sales for the financial sector.
Evan Ramstad
