PNC to acquire M&A advisory firm Fortis

PNC Financial Services Group is continuing build out its corporate banking business through strategic acquisitions.

The Pittsburgh company said Wednesday that is acquiring Fortis Advisors, a San Diego-based merger-and-acquisition advisory firm that represents shareholders in private M&A deals.

The deal would be PNC’s second announced nonbank transaction in under a month. In November, PNC announced it was buying the Trout Group, a New York-based health care advisory firm that provides investor relations and communications services to clients in the life sciences, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device sectors.

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A PNC Bank branch stands in this photo taken with a tilt-shift lens in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014. PNC Financial Services Group Inc., the second-biggest U.S. regional bank, posted third-quarter profit last month that beat analysts' estimates as asset-management revenue increased. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Fortis has been involved in more than 750 M&A transactions since 2011, including Walmart’s $3 billion acquisition of Jet.com, an online retailer, and Facebook’s $22 billion acquisition of WhatsApp.

"This represents our commitment to ongoing investments in our Treasury Management products and services," Mike Lyons, an executive vice president at PNC and its head of corporate and institutional banking, said in a press release. "Longer-term, we see an opportunity to leverage Fortis' distinct advisory services to develop additional capabilities that will increase both fee income and deposits."

PNC did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close in February. Once the deal is completed Fortis will operate as a subsidiary of PNC. Its current management, led by co-founders Rick Zink, Adam Lezack and Ryan Simkin, will continue to run the company and its headquarters will remain in San Diego.

"We believe this is a tremendous business opportunity to become not only part of one of the nation's largest banks, but one which shares our culture of offering the highest level of customer service in the industry," Fink, Fortis’ CEO, said in the announcement.

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M&A Strategic buyers Corporate finance Commercial banking PNC Financial Services Group
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