Busy 2024 pushes Raymond James into ranks of top bank M&A advisers

The depository investment banking team at Raymond James & Associates Inc. is nearing its deal count from 2021, a record year for US bank M&A, while other leading financial advisers in the sector are far off their pace from that year.

Raymond James is now in the top three US bank M&A advisers of 2024 by deal count, following its 12th announced assignment on a bank deal in 2024, advising the buyer on Camden National Corp.'s planned acquisition of Northway Financial Inc.

As of Sept. 10, the firm was just one deal behind Stifel Financial Corp., parent company of Keefe Bruyette & Woods Inc., and four behind Piper Sandler & Co. By deal value, Raymond James was in second place with $5.05 billion, behind Stifel's $7.39 billion.

Raymond James advised on 16 deals in 2021, the peak of recent M&A activity in the sector, ranking sixth among bank M&A advisers. It was well off the pace of Piper Sandler with 47 deals and Stifel with 35 deals in 2021, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

To get to third place in 2024, Raymond James leapfrogged Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Performance Trust Capital Partners LLC, D.A. Davidson & Co., Olsen Palmer LLC and Capital Corp., all of which advised on more deals in 2023.

The firm advised on First Busey Corp.'s $925.5 million deal with CrossFirst Bankshares Inc. and WesBanco Inc.'s $959 million planned purchase of Premier Financial Corp., announced July 26 — plus the largest bank deal announced since 2022, SouthState Corp.'s $2 billion purchase of Independent Bank Group Inc.

Winning strategy

Raymond James' broad range of capabilities, rather than one skill, has allowed the firm to keep up its advisory pace in a slow period for deals, said John Roddy, the firm's co-head of financial services investment banking. Knowledge of bond and mortgage portfolios may not be relevant in every environment, but has served the firm well in recent months, Roddy said.

With a depository institutions group of about 60 professionals, 15 of whom are senior bankers, the firm's long-term relationships have allowed for a steady cadence of deals despite a smaller team compared to its peers, Roddy said. Raymond James advised First Busey subsidiary Busey Bank on its purchase of Investors' Security Trust Co. in 2019.

"I certainly feel that we are at the top of the charts when it comes to repeat client activity," Roddy said. "That's demonstrated by the WesBanco transaction and the SouthState transaction. ... If I think about it, probably the majority of transactions."

Raymond James was selected as the adviser for the First Busey-CrossFirst deal because it put in the most "elbow grease," First Busey CFO Jeffrey Jones said in an interview.

"They put in more work, more insightful, intellectual thoughts and perspective, and facilitated more of the coming-together of our leadership teams than others did," he said.

Jones has known Bob Toma, the lead adviser on the First Busey-CrossFirst deal, for 10 years and had worked with Toma during his own 20-year career as an investment banker prior to joining First Busey, he said.

"They're not our only banker but they've proven themselves to be adept to understand our business," Jones said.