CIBC has acquired Cleary Gull, a Milwaukee-based boutique investment banking firm specializing in middle market mergers and acquisitions, private capital placement and debt advisory across the United States. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, pending regulatory approval. Terms were not disclosed.
This acquisition is intended to help support continued growth for CIBC in the U.S. Cleary Gull's expertise in meeting the needs of successful, privately owned firms is expected to further CIBC's capabilities to deepen relationships with clients.
"Our bank has an established presence in providing investment banking advisory services to large corporate clients in the US, and our acquisition of Cleary Gull will further our capabilities for middle market clients," said Roman Dubczak, managing director and head, global investment banking at CIBC, in a statement. "Over its more than 30-year history, Cleary Gull has built a strong team and brings industry expertise to a variety of sectors."
Since the acquisition of The PrivateBank in 2017, CIBC has taken an integrated approach to expand its capabilities across commercial banking, wealth management and capital markets.
"Acquiring Cleary Gull supports our focus on client relationships, connectivity across our teams, and our strategy to build a relationship-oriented bank," said Michael Capatides, senior executive vice president and group head, U.S. Region, and president and CEO, CIBC Bank USA, in a statement. "This acquisition is a further investment in our North American platform that will deliver enhanced Capital Markets capabilities for our clients, and support our diversification and growth objectives."
Added Cleary Gull President and Managing Director Ronald D. Miller: "Cleary Gull and CIBC share a commitment to supporting the growth of middle market, privately owned businesses in the U.S. With our focus on family and entrepreneur-owned business, as well as private equity firms, we are excited about the opportunities for our clients and our team as part of CIBC's growing business in the U.S."
CIBC is based in Toronto, with its U.S. headquarters in Chicago. The company has 10 million personal banking, business, public sector and institutional clients.
