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  • Seller
  • Buyer
  • Type
  • Date Announced
  • Seller AUM
  • W.S. Griffith Securities & Main Street Management Company (The Phoenix Companies)
  • LPL Financial Services
  • Securities and Investment Banking
  • March 23, 2004
  • N/A

Seller Details

The Phoenix Companies, Inc. is a leading provider of wealth management products and services to individuals and institutions. Through a variety of advisors and financial services firms, Phoenix helps the affluent and high net worth accumulate, preserve and transfer their wealth with an innovative portfolio of life insurance, annuity and asset management products and services. Phoenix has corporate offices in Hartford, Conn. W.S. Griffith and Main Street Management are Phoenix 's retail broker/dealer operations. W.S. Griffith has main offices in Hartford and back offices in San Diego, 22 field offices through the US and 747 investment advice professionals. Main Street, located in Wallingford , Conn., has 270 advisors.

Buyer Details

LPL Financial Services is the nation's number one independent broker/dealer with over 900 staff members headquartered in Boston and San Diego . LPL has over 5,100 investment professionals in branch offices throughout the US and custodied assets in excess of $65 billion. It is committed to providing its representatives with the technology, research and non-proprietary investment programs needed to offer clients the highest quality of investment advice.

Transaction Summary

Under the terms of the agreement, LPL will acquire Phoenix 's retail broker/dealer operations (W.S. Griffith and Main Street ). The two parties will also enter into a marketing agreement under which Phoenix will have the opportunity to distribute its products through LPL's representatives. As part of the transaction, advisors affiliated with W.S. Griffith and Main Street will transition to LPL as independent registered representatives.

This transaction will give W.S. Griffith's and Main Street 's representatives an excellent platform to grow their business, while strengthening LPL's ability to leverage Phoenix 's life, annuity and asset management products and expertise. In addition, the sale of its retail broker/ dealer operations is consistent with Phoenix's continuing focus on becoming a pure manufacture of life, annuity and asset management products and services for affluent and high net worth individuals. The move also supports Phoenix 's ongoing efforts to reduce its annualized expenses and fixed costs. The company expects to realize an annualized net pre-tax earnings benefit of $10 million or more on a GAAP basis. In addition, it expects to incur restructuring and transaction-related charges of approximately $8 million after tax over the first three quarters of 2004.

Much of W.S. Griffith's back office in San Diego will be consolidated into LPL's back office operations, also located in San Diego.

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