Cebile acquired by Raymond James Financial

Boutique private capital advisor Cebile Capital has agreed terms with a $1 trillion financial services group.

The London-headquartered secondaries advisor and placement agent has agreed to be acquired by Raymond James Financial, subject to regulatory requirements, according to a statement.

Cebile will sit within Raymond James Investment Banking, a subsidiary that offers capital formation and financial advisory services. Founder and managing partner Sunaina Sinha Haldea will continue to lead the firm.

“By joining Raymond James, [Cebile’s] clients gain access to the expertise of our 450 investment banking professionals and industry experts to further assist them in providing strategic advice to private equity firms and their portfolio companies,” said Jim Bunn, president of Raymond James Investment Banking, in the statement.

Raymond James Investment Banking has participated in raising nearly $300 billion of capital for corporate clients and worked on 800 M&A buy-side and sell-side advisory assignments since 2015, the statement noted.

Cebile, which had declined previous approaches, was won over by Raymond James’s family culture, long-term perspective, mid-market focus and an introduction by a trusted partner, Sinha Haldea told Secondaries Investor.

“It is not a typical Wall Street investment bank,” she said.

Cebile’s long-term goal is to be “the market leader in PE mid-market GP-led deals and placement”, she added. Sinha Haldea declined to discuss financial details of the transaction.

The firm has 20 staff working across offices in London and New York, according to its website. Among the secondaries deals it ran in the past 12 months are a $100 million GP-led process on two funds managed by Method Advisors, backed by Blackstone’s Strategic Partners unit.

St Petersburg, Florida-headquartered Raymond James has shifted its focus to investment banking in recent years, the statement noted. In December it acquired New York consumer-focused boutique investment bank Financo.

The New York-listed firm has $1.13 trillion in assets under management across its private client, capital markets, asset management and banking groups.

The past 18 months has seen several entrants into the secondaries advisory space, including Jefferies, Tradition, Rothschild & Co and Goldman Sachs, Secondaries Investor has reported.