Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100 percent of Vining Sparks and its affiliates. Established in 1981 and headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, Vining Sparks provides institutional fixed income brokerage, balance sheet management and underwriting services.

“This transaction brings together two similar client-centric institutional fixed income businesses based on a philosophy of providing value-added services supported by strategy, analytics and technology,” said Ronald Kruszewski, Chairman and CEO of Stifel. “The cultural and strategic fits between our firms are substantial, as Vining’s core depository client base had less than 5% net revenue overlap with Stifel’s fixed income client base last year. Ultimately, we see opportunity to leverage Vining’s core relationships across both the Stifel and Keefe, Bruyette and Woods platforms to further our position as the market leader, and most trusted advisor, in the financial services sector. I am also happy to welcome Mark Medford who will be joining us as a Vice Chairman of Stifel Financial.”

“Since our founding 40 years ago, Vining Sparks has focused on helping depository institutions by providing a range of trading capabilities and balance sheet strategies,” said Mark Medford, CEO of Vining Sparks. “By combining with Stifel, our depository clients, as well as our other clients, will not only benefit from a broader product offering through Stifel’s established presence in financial services but also from the strength of the firm’s balance sheet and we look forward to growing our business for the future.”

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, A Stifel Company, acted as financial advisor and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP acted as legal advisor to Stifel in the transaction