TULSA, Okla., Jan. 05, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BOK Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:BOKF) announced today that it has entered into an asset purchase agreement with Weaver and Tidwell Financial Advisors LTD d/b/a Weaver Wealth Management, a registered investment advisor. The agreement includes hiring Weaver Wealth Management’s team and transitioning its wealth management clients to The Milestone Group, a subsidiary of BOK Financial. Completion of the transaction is expected during the first quarter of 2016, upon regulatory approval. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Weaver Wealth Management is owned by the Texas-based accounting firm, Weaver and Tidwell LLP, the largest independent accounting firm in the Southwest and a top-40 firm in the country. This acquisition will increase BOK Financial’s assets under management and administration by approximately $340 million and expand the company’s wealth management reach in Texas.
Weaver Wealth Management brings to BOK Financial an experienced team with a solid client base of executives and families receiving investment management and wealth management services. It will become part of BOK Financial’s subsidiary, The Milestone Group, which focuses on providing investment management and strategic financial planning services to ultra-high net worth customers.
“The addition of Weaver Wealth Management will allow BOK Financial to further serve our clients’ financial needs in one of the most attractive growth markets we serve,” said Scott Grauer, executive vice president, Wealth Management at BOK Financial. “Weaver Wealth Management clients will benefit from a broad set of products and services that come with the backing of a $31 billion company like BOK Financial. We benefit by adding the talent and expertise of their team and accelerating the growth opportunities of our business in Texas.”
”Paramount in our decision were the outstanding reputations of BOK Financial and The Milestone Group, as well as their commitment to delivering the highest level of service to our clients,” said John Mackel, managing partner and chief executive officer of Weaver and Tidwell LLP. “Wealth management is the core service area for The Milestone Group. The expertise and first-class-client-service commitments of both teams make this deal a great fit. We’re confident that our clients and our team members will be well taken care of, which was our top priority in this transaction.”
Managing director for Weaver Wealth Management, David Sego, will maintain his leadership role and report directly to Eric Koeplin, president of The Milestone Group. Existing Weaver Wealth Management clients will continue to be served by their same team of advisors and support personnel.
BOK Financial is a $31 billion financial services company headquartered in Tulsa, Okla. with $67 billion in assets under management and administration, as of Sept. 30, 2015. The company operates as Bank of Texas throughout the state of Texas, with major offices in Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston. The Milestone Group operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of BOK Financial and has $1.8 billion in assets under management. The Denver-based boutique wealth management firm was founded in 1996 and its clients include high and ultra high net worth families and executives.
Tamara Wagman of Frederic Dorwart, Lawyers served as legal counsel to BOK Financial. Steve Kesten with BoyarMiller served as legal counsel to Weaver.
About BOK Financial Corporation
BOK Financial Corporation is a $31 billion regional financial services company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Company's stock is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the Global Select market listings (symbol: BOKF). BOK Financial's holdings include BOKF, NA, BOSC, Inc. and The Milestone Group, Inc. BOKF, NA operates TransFund, Cavanal Hill Investment Management and seven banking divisions: Bank of Albuquerque, Bank of Arizona, Bank of Arkansas, Bank of Kansas City, Bank of Oklahoma, Bank of Texas and Colorado State Bank and Trust. Through its subsidiaries, the Company provides commercial and consumer banking, investment and trust services, mortgage origination and servicing, and an electronic funds transfer network. For more information, visit www.bokf.com.
About Weaver and Tidwell LLP
Founded in 1950, Weaver currently has 500+ employees and offices in eight cities across the United States. Weaver is ranked the largest independent accounting firm in the Southwest by Accounting Today magazine. The firm is also ranked the 38th largest firm in the United States and a ‘2015 Best of the Best Firm to Watch’ by INSIDE Public Accounting. Weaver serves a broad range of clients including public and private national and international companies, nonprofit organizations and government entities. In addition to traditional assurance and tax services, Weaver also provides numerous advisory services, including risk advisory, transaction advisory, IT advisory, energy compliance and consulting, forensics and litigation, international tax, property tax, state and local tax, and wealth strategies services. Learn more at www.weaver.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on management's beliefs, assumptions, current expectations, estimates and projections about BOK Financial, the financial services industry and the economy generally. Words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “forecasts,” “plans,” “projects,” variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Management judgments relating to and discussion of the provision and allowance for credit losses involve judgments as to future events and are inherently forward-looking statements. Assessments that BOK Financial's acquisitions and other growth endeavors will be profitable are necessary statements of belief as to the outcome of future events based in part on information provided by others which BOK Financial has not independently verified. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions which are difficult to predict with regard to timing, extent, likelihood and degree of occurrence. Therefore, actual results and outcomes may materially differ from what is expected, implied or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Internal and external factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to (1) the ability to fully realize expected cost savings from mergers within the expected time frames, (2) the ability of other companies on which BOK Financial relies to provide goods and services in a timely and accurate manner, (3) changes in interest rates and interest rate relationships, (4) demand for products and services, (5) the degree of competition by traditional and nontraditional competitors, (6) changes in banking regulations, tax laws, prices, levies and assessments, (7) the impact of technological advances and (8) trends in consumer behavior as well as their ability to repay loans. BOK Financial and its affiliates undertake no obligation to update, amend or clarify forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.