Piper Jaffray Cos. (NYSE: PJC) is buying BMO Capital Markets GKST Inc., a municipal bond sales, trading and origination business, to add services. For Piper Jaffray, the deal for the Chicago-based group brings breadth to its institutional sales, trading and underwriting operations and strengthens its analytics capabilities. Earlier in July, the firm acquired River Branch Holdings, a boutique financial institution-focused investment bank. BMO, headquartered in Toronto, says the divestiture allows it to grow core U.S. businesses, including the institutional fixed income operations. Minneapolis-based Piper Jaffray, under CEO Andrew Duff, has a history of acquisitions, a contributing factor to the firm taking home Mergers & Acquisitions M&A Mid-Market Investment Bank of the Year Award for 2014. In 2013, the firm picked up Edgeview Partners LP and Partnership Capital Growth its first-ever acquisitions on the investment banking side. Faegre Baker Daniels was Piper Jaffray's legal counsel for the deal, and Berkshire Capital and BMO Capital Markets advised BMO. Mayer Brown LLP was BMO's legal adviser.
