CHICAGO - Cleveland's National City Corp. has announced it will acquire Raffensperger, Hughes & Co. next year to supplement its investment banking capabilities.
The Ohio company will acquire Raffensperger for an undisclosed amount of cash in the second quarter of 1995. National City has focused its expansion in the tristate area of Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, said Thomas Richlovsky, senior vice president and treasurer.
Any banking franchise that comes up for sale in that area, we'll take a good, hard look at," said Richlovsky. In the past year, he said the company has acquired Central Indiana Bankshares and Ohio Bankcorp to boost its presence in the Indianapolis and Cleveland markets.
Richlovsky said National City was attracted to Raffensperger not just for its Indianapolis headquarters, but for the investment products and trading expertise it offers. Raffensperger is Indiana's largest investment banking and brokerage firm, with capitalization of about $10 million and business units that include public finance, institutional sales, and trading.
Once National City completes the acquisition, it will combine its National City Investments Capital Inc. subsidiary with Raffensperger. The new entity will have the authority to underwrite and to make markets in corporate debt and corporate equity.
"It promises us a broader spectrum of products for our customer base," said Richlovsky.
Both National City and Raffensperger have about 200 employees, and Richlovsky said staff cuts are not expected.
"We don't, have our plans firmed up yet. but the deal is not predicated on cost control or expense savings ... and the implication would be that shrinking is not what this is all about," he said.
Herbert R. Martens Jr., Raffensperer's president and chief executive officer, will manage the newly combined organization as chief executive officer.
