COSTA MESA, Calif., Jan. 18, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- RSM EquiCo Capital Markets LLC, a global investment bank, reports that 2006 was a record-breaking year for the firm, with 52 completed transactions and the generation of $1.8 billion in liquidity on behalf of its clients.
"We had a terrific year in 2006 and have emerged as a formidable player in middle-market mergers and acquisitions," said Hector J. Cuellar, president of both RSM EquiCo Capital Markets and its parent, RSM EquiCo, Inc. Cuellar attributed the firm's success to a variety of factors, including its specialized expertise in 12 distinct industry sectors; continually expanding team of senior-level dealmakers; cross-border dealmaking expertise; and growing reputation among both strategic and financial buyers.
According to Cuellar, the firm not only enjoyed a 40 percent increase in closed transactions, but its average deal value of $35 million was a significant jump from $22 million in 2005. Although RSM EquiCo Capital Markets' deals have grown steadily in size, the investment bank has not abandoned its roots: approximately one-third of last year's transactions had enterprise values below $25 million.
A Look Back at 2006:
During the previous 12 months, RSM EquiCo Capital Markets:
* Created $1.8 billion in liquidity, more than double last
year's figure of $780 million.
* Significantly expanded its team of senior-level executives
with the addition of two senior managing directors (Charlene
Davidson and Jay Sherwood), two managing directors (Jerome
Merchant and John Cary) and a vice president (Paul Bodet).
* Closed its first transaction worth more than $200 million in
enterprise value.
* Hosted its first Domestic Buyers Symposium. The event, which
was held in Monarch Beach, Calif., attracted senior-level
executives from more than 40 private equity firms with
collective access to well over $30 billion in unleveraged
capital.
* Hosted an International Buyer Symposium in Paris that attracted
many of that nation's most prominent companies. The Symposium
was the seventh such event the firm has held since its
founding in 1999.
* Hosted industry-specific symposiums attended by influential
executives in the energy, food and beverage, government
services, and aerospace and defense sectors.
* Completed seven cross-border transactions.
* Expanded its range of services to include fairness opinions.
* Set new records for revenue and closes with nine transactions
completed in a single month (August).
"When the year began, RSM EquiCo Capital Markets was ranked No. 18 in FactSet Mergerstat's overall list of the nation's most active M&A advisors and No. 3 for deals of less than $100 million," noted Cuellar. "We're looking forward to seeing this year's list and expect to be ranked even higher."
About RSM EquiCo Capital Markets
RSM EquiCo Capital Markets LLC (http://www.rsmequico.com) is a global provider of investment banking services to private and public companies with annual revenues of up to $1 billion. The firm brings together companies, capital and creativity on a national and international scale to help clients achieve their personal and strategic objectives.
As specialists in facilitating mergers and acquisitions, providing access to capital markets and offering fairness opinions, RSM EquiCo Capital Markets plays an unusual role in the underserved "middle-market" field by providing advisory services on both the buy-side and sell-side. These services include facilitating the acquisition of North American companies and raising capital for a wide variety of purposes, ranging from acquisitions and leveraged buyouts to balance sheet restructuring.
RSM EquiCo Capital Markets is licensed by the SEC and all state securities authorities, and is a member of the NASD and SIPC. The firm's international headquarters are located in Costa Mesa, Calif. It also has offices in Chicago, Boston, New York and London.