SVB Securities management is in talks to buy back the investment bank from bankrupt SVB Financial Group, according to people familiar with the matter.
SVB Securities chief executive officer Jeff Leerink and his team are preparing to announce a deal for the firm in the coming days, pending approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the matter isn’t public. No final decision has been made and talks could still fall apart.
SVB Securities spent heavily in recent years hiring talent across Wall Street to build a competitive investment banking franchise, which was particularly strong in the healthcare and technology sectors. The firm advised on about $9 billion in mergers and acquisitions last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Bloomberg News first reported in March that the management of SVB Securities was exploring buying back the firm after Silicon Valley Bank was seized by regulators. SVB Financial, the former parent of Silicon Valley Bank, filed for bankruptcy in March, though SVB Securities and venture capital arm SVB Capital weren’t included in the filing.
A lawyer representing SVB Financial said at a bankruptcy hearing this week that only one qualifying bid had emerged for SVB Securities.
