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Is there a merger in the works for Ryan Beck & Co., the regional investment bank and large retail broker, and the Advest Group, a similar animal?
New Jersey-based Ryan Beck, which has bought several retail brokers in recent years, is also expanding its investment-banking group as part of preparing the bank for an eventual spinoff from its parent, Florida's BankAtlantic Bancorp, according to sources. Hartford, Conn.-based Advest Group, which has securities brokerage, investment banking and asset management, is also expected to be spun off from its parent, AXA Financial. Advest was acquired by MONY Group in 2001, which was later sold to AXA.
Sources said that Ryan Beck's purchase of Advest is part of the grand plan for both. A union between Ryan Beck and Advest, which also has an investment banking unit, makes sense, according to Todd Halky, associate director at Sandler O'Neill & Partners, an investment bank that specializes in financial institutions. "It will help them build out their capital markets offering by increasing the overall research product and sales...