Back To List Print Page
  • Seller
  • Buyer
  • Type
  • Date Announced
  • Seller AUM
  • Adams Harkness Financial Group, Inc.
  • Canaccord Capital Inc.
  • Securities and Investment Banking
  • September 13, 2005
  • N/A

Seller Details

Adams Harkness is a privately held institutional investment bank focused on growth companies in the technology, healthcare and consumer sectors. With a focus on research-driven investment ideas, Adams Harkness offers investment banking and sales and trading services to its corporate and institutional clients. The company, with approximately 165 employees, is headquartered in Boston, Mass. and has offices in New York, N.Y. and San Francisco, Calif. Adams Harkness is a member of the NASD and SIPC.

Buyer Details

Canaccord Capital Inc. is a leading independent full service investment dealer, publicly traded on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), a market operated by the London Stock Exchange. Canaccord has operations in two of the principal segments of the securities industry: Private Client Services and Global Capital Markets. Together, these operations offer a wide range of complementary investment products, brokerage services and investment banking services to Canaccord's retail, institutional and corporate clients. Canaccord has approximately 1,300 employees worldwide in 28 offices, this includes Investment Advisors located in 25 offices across Canada, and international Global Capital Markets professionals based in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montréal and London (UK).

Transaction Summary

Canaccord's acquisition of Adams Harkness will form Canaccord Adams, a new brand for Canaccord's Global Capital Markets operations. This new group will combine the industry expertise, services and market reach of both firms and thus better serve the global small to mid cap market niche.

Canaccord will pay $20 million for Adams Harkness, which will consist of $8 million in cash and $12 million in approximately 1.34 million common shares of Canaccord Capital Inc., which will come from a combination of shares acquired from selling shareholders and issuance of treasury shares. Shares will be held in escrow until June 30, 2008, with annual releases of one-third per year, beginning on June 30, 2006. Current shareholders of Adams Harkness will retain ownership of certain non-core assets. In order to retain key employees and ensure that senior management will continue in their roles, a $10 million retention pool in Canaccord common shares has been established.

Back To List