Merger could create jobs in Connecticut
Posted on October 21, 2011
A new merger could potentially create some much-needed jobs in Connecticut.
Caris & Company, an equity research, sales and trading firm based in San Diego, California, and M.M. Dillon & Co., an investment banking and private equity partnership based in Stamford, Connecticut, today announced a business combination. The combined firm, to be named Caris Dillon, will create an integrated investment bank with the expertise and focus to provide bulge bracket capital market services to growth sector small and mid-cap companies.
The combination will be structured with each firm owning 50 percent of the new entity, and is subject to FINRA approval. Caris Dillon also named Michiel C. McCarty, a 35 year Wall Street investment banking veteran and current Chairman and CEO of M.M. Dillon & Co., and Darren Caris, current Chairman and CEO of Caris & Company, as Co-CEO’s to run the investment bank.
The combination is anticipated to occur early in the New Year after FINRA approval, and a coincident capital injection from a collection of industry veterans.
The planned capital increase is designed to allow Caris Dillon the ability to underwrite on a lead and sole managed basis most of the transactions needed by the growth companies the two organizations follow, plus those new companies attracted by the growth focus of the new integrated investment bank. In preparation for the combination, both organizations have been taking advantage of the current downturn on Wall Street to add experienced talent to their organizations in selected sectors.
Caris and Dillon have been operating under a strategic alliance since March, with coordination of hiring and strategic moves in addition to normal client development. This six month alliance led to the discussions that culminated in the agreed combination of the two firms.
Darren Caris, Co-CEO said in a statement, “I am very excited about the planned combination, which I view as world class research meeting world class banking with the growth sectors the beneficiaries. I have worked now with the Dillon people for over six months and firmly believe they have the same interests as the Caris firm, to provide the ethical and competent framework needed for capital market access for growth companies. I have worked hard to build Caris over the last eight years, as have the Dillon people, and with the merger we will both fill our respective needs in a way that neither of us could accomplish alone. It is truly a win win deal for our firms and ultimately a winning one for our clients.“
