EVR - Wall Street Minnows Pitch Merger Nirvana
By Breakingviews
A couple of Wall Street's relative minnows are pitching merger nirvana. Chad Abraham, chief executive of Minneapolis-based Piper Jaffray ([[PJC]]), reckons a $485 million purchase of Sandler O'Neill will double his investment bank's margins - all without cost cuts or new revenue. That's a mouth-watering prospect, and potentially powerful marketing for a firm which, when combined, will generate more than half its revenue from advising clients on deals. In reality, though, the tie-up's returns will just be middling.
That's not to dismiss the appeal of the acquisition for the $1 billion Piper Jaffray.