In Brief: CIBC Unit Absorbs Oppenheimer Bankers

CIBC Wood Gundy Securities Corp. took steps this week to integrate Oppenheimer & Co., the investment bank it acquired this month.

The firm added 26 of Oppenheimer's high-yield bankers to its own junk bond shop, bringing its staff to 167 executives.

The bulk of the Oppenheimer hirings will beef up CIBC's special situations, distressed, and bankruptcy efforts, said Andrew Heyer, a managing director and co-head of high-yield at CIBC Oppenheimer.

The additional staff helps relaunch an effort Mr. Heyer and his team established at Argosy Group, the junk bond boutique Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce bought in 1995.

When the Argosy bankers joined CIBC, they shifted their efforts to originating new business, Mr. Heyer said.

"When we joined CIBC, the distressed business had shrunk in general, and our primary focus had shifted to new issues," Mr. Heyer said. "Throughout that period, Oppenheimer had maintained a substantial presence in distressed debt."

CIBC Oppenheimer, as the new unit will be named, has raised $3 billion from 20 high-yield bond issues this year, according to Securities Data Co. The New York-based group is ranked 13th among all underwriters.

Mr. Heyer said the group will continue to build up the high-yield business at all levels. "We've seen the business grow substantially, and the volume continues," Mr. Heyer said. "We are a top 10 originator, and our goal is to keep it there and move it up."

CIBC also said it hired Michael Macelli as a senior managing director focusing on independent power, utilities, and energy corporate finance. Mr. Macelli, 37, joined the group from Bear, Stearns & Co., where he worked five years in a similar post.

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