Madison Williams and Company, a privately-held, integrated capital markets and advisory firm, has completed a management buyout from Sanders Morris Harris Group. On Dec. 11, the new firm announced it has received its broker-dealer license by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and is now owned by management, employees, and key institutional investors, including Fletcher International Inc., a New York City-based private capital fund with approximately $1 billion under management.
Madison Williams currently has 80 employees in five offices throughout the United States – New York, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, and New Orleans. As a private investment banking firm with a strong North American presence and international capabilities, the group says it can offer its clients more highly focused and flexible products and services as a new entity.
"Over the past 25 years, investment banking firms have become increasingly transaction-oriented at their clients' expense," said William Sprague, former head of the capital markets business of SMH Capital and now president and CEO of Madison Williams. "As a private company, we can more efficiently focus on the longer-term needs of our clients by providing thoughtful solutions that meet their financial and strategic needs."
— Sylvia Barnes, head of Madison Williams' SMH Energy practice
The cornerstone of Madison Williams' strategy is the energy sector where the firm has completed more than 30 transactions this year. The firm is ranked third in number of co-managed energy equity offerings in 2009, having completed 20 public equity and one public debt offering in the oil and gas sector by mid-December.
"We have an excellent energy investment banking team, headed by Sylvia Barnes," Sprague commented. "The SMH Energy practice of Madison Williams exemplifies its growth strategy going forward – hire exceptional people with a strong track record of success and provide them the resources necessary to excel."
The energy research team is headed by Michael Bodino, a veteran in research and analysis of the upstream petroleum sector.
Barnes noted, "As I look back on 2009, I'm extremely proud of the accomplishments of our 10-member SMH Energy investment banking team in Houston." SMH Energy advised on more than 30 transactions year-to-date, including:
- Resaca Exploitation's $160M merger with Cano Petroleum;
- Two PIPE's for TransAtlantic Petroleum Corp. totaling C$262M;
- ATP Oil & Gas Corporation's $150M infrastructure monetization with General Electric;
- Carrizo Oil & Gas Co.'s $35M sale of Barnett shale midstream assets;
- US Energy's 15-well Bakken drilling venture with Brigham Exploration Co.; and
- Underwriting 22 public equity and one public debt offerings in the energy sector, including lead-managing GeoResources' $36M and US Energy's $26M equity offering in recent weeks.
"As we look forward to 2010, we recognize there are no cookie-cutter solutions, especially in today's environment," said Barnes. "As a private company, the SMH Energy division of Madison Williams will combine the benefits of its experienced senior banking professional staff with superior research and sales and trading to meet our energy clients' long-term value-creation business needs."
Madison Williams offers investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales, and trading and research services to institutional and corporate clients.
Sanders Morris Harris Group manages about $10.6 billion in client assets and has more than 600 employees in 21 states. The firm will retain a minority stake in Madison Williams, although the exact amount has not been disclosed.
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