Oppenheimer to acquire California-based investment bank Brandis Tallman

Oppenheimer & Co. has reached an agreement to acquire San Francisco-based investment bank Brandis Tallman for an undisclosed price in a move to fast track growth of its public finance investment banking business.

Brandis Tallman is engaged in providing bond underwriting and placement of municipal debt to public agencies in California.

Since its induction in 2002, Brandis Tallman is said to have privately placed billions in municipal bonds on behalf of cities, special districts, counties, and school districts across California. The investment bank is claimed to have closed 242 municipal bond transactions since 2016.

The combination of Brandis Tallman and the existing public finance efforts of Oppenheimer will make the latter one of the major underwriters and private placement agents of California municipal bonds.

Oppenheimer is the main subsidiary of New York-based investment bank and financial services company Oppenheimer Holdings. Alongside its affiliates, Oppenheimer is focused on offering a range of wealth management, securities brokerage, and investment banking services to high-net-worth individuals, corporate executives, families, local governments, businesses, and institutions.

The closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory review and approvals.

Post-acquisition, Brandis Tallman will keep its brand name and will operate as a division of Oppenheimer.

Rick Brandis and Nicki Tallman, co-founders of Brandis Tallman, will be joining Oppenheimer as managing directors and will report to Bill Reisner, head of the public finance investment banking unit.

Bill Reisner said: “In this current economic environment, issuers are increasingly looking for executable solutions to the fiscal challenges brought about by the economic shutdown. We have been developing a team of senior bankers with strong credit expertise and deep sector knowledge, and we expect that issuers will increasingly demand high caliber coverage from their investment bankers.

“We have also seen a growing number of deals done on a private placement basis, which insulates the issuers from the vagaries of market volatility. With our new Brandis Tallman division, Oppenheimer is well-positioned to capture significant opportunities driven by both of these trends.”

Once the transaction is completed, Brandis Tallman will have access to all the resources and scale of Oppenheimer to boost its services and capabilities, including a deep bench underwriting, placement, research, debt structuring, and trading and sales personnel who are exclusively focused on the municipal capital markets.

Rick Brandis and Nicki Tallman said: “The California municipal bond market is highly complex, but also presents exceptional growth opportunities for underwriters that combine an established network of relationships and a proven track record for successful execution with national resources and capabilities.

“As a division of Oppenheimer, Brandis Tallman will optimize its relationships and expertise as a top California municipal bond underwriter, while preserving our brand, our leadership and all the other elements of our team that have driven our success over the years. We look forward to serving our issuers through even larger underwritings and more robust services with the backing of Oppenheimer.”