Financial Services

Overview

Keeping up with the regulatory and transactional demands of a fast-moving, innovative, and complex marketplace calls for a team that can answer your toughest questions with actionable guidance—every time and right when you need it.

Our Financial Services Group offers pragmatic, insightful informed advice so that you can make strategic decisions with confidence.

We represent U.S. and foreign financial services firms on the full range of regulatory and transactional matters, from corporate governance concerns to strategic mergers and alliances.

For corporate matters, we counsel our clients on mergers and acquisitions, capital raising and distributions, and other strategic transactions. We represent issuers and investors, buyers and sellers, boards of directors and special committees. We serve as day-to-day corporate counsel for banks, insurance companies, asset management firms, securities and mortgage brokers, and payments firms.

We structure traditional and emerging and alternative asset management and investment products, supporting private investment funds, registered investment companies, and broker-dealers, as well as clients structuring, distributing, trading, investing in, and hedging with derivatives and structured products.

Experience

Please follow the links provided for our representative experience in:

Banking and Wealth Management 

• Represented Mississippi-based BancorpSouth Bank (NYSE: BXS) in several transactions, including its proposed $2.7 billion merger with Texas-based Cadence Bancorporation, the parent company of Cadence Bank, N.A. At the time of announcement, it was the second largest bank deal of the year. Additional recent deals include its $108.4 million merger with Alabama-based FNS Bancshares, the parent company of FNB Bank, and its $115 million acquisition of Texas-based National United Bancshares, Inc., the parent company of National United.
• Represented Beacon Pointe Holdings and its subsidiaries in the merging of its two Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) into a single RIA operating as Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC, and in its recapitalization with a strategic minority investment by Abry Partners. Subsequently represented Beacon Pointe in several acquisitions, including of Florida-based Ferrell Wealth Management Inc., Louisiana-based CBD Wealth Management, Texas-based D.R. Saur Financial, North Carolina-based DMJ Wealth Advisors, South Carolina-based Capital Design Associates Group LLC, and Texas-based Wealthstreet Investment Advisors.
• Represented Louisiana-based Business First Bancshares, Inc., in its $211 million acquisition of Louisiana-based Pedestal Bancshares, Inc. 
• Represented Fifth Third Bancorp in its acquisition of Hammond Hanlon Camp LLC, a premier strategic advisory and investment banking firm focused on hospitals, health systems, and related organizations. 
• Represented Tennessee-based Franklin Financial Network, Inc., parent company of Franklin Synergy Bank, in its $611 million merger with Tennessee-based FB Financial Corporation, parent company of FirstBank. 
• Represented Sacramento, California-based Genovese Burford & Brothers Wealth & Retirement Plan Management, LLC (GBB) in its acquisition by CAPTRUST Financial Advisors, an independent registered investment advisor headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.
• Represented Hancock Whitney Corporation, a super-regional financial services and banking company, in its $497 million sale of energy loans to certain funds and accounts managed by Oaktree Capital Management L.P., a leading global private equity investment group.
• Represented Happy State Bank in its acquisition of Muleshoe Bancshares, Inc. and its subsidiary bank, First Bank of Muleshoe, through a series of mergers.
• Represented Pathstone, an independently operated, partner-owned wealth management advisory firm, in its acquisition of Cornerstone Capital Group, an SEC registered investment advisor. 
• Represented Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida in its $63 million acquisition of Fourth Street Banking Co., the holding company for Freedom Bank of St. Petersburg.
• Represented Sullivan, Bruyette, Speros & Blayney LLC (SBSB) in its acquisition by Creative Planning Inc., one of the nation's largest registered investment advisers.
• Represented Texas Hill Country Bancshares, Inc., the parent company of Texas Hill Country Bank, in its merger with Southwest Bancshares Inc., the parent company for the Bank of San Antonio, and Capitol of Texas Bancshares Inc., the parent company of The Bank of Austin.

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Payments

• Represented CPS Payment Systems in its $93 million sale to Repay Holdings Corporation, a leading provider of vertically-integrated payment solutions.
• Represented Credit Suisse, financial advisor to Intercontinental Exchange, a leading operator of global exchanges and clearing houses and provider of mortgage technology, data and listing services, in its $11 billion acquisition of Ellie Mae, the leading cloud-based platform provider for the mortgage finance industry.
• Represented Intercontinental Exchange Inc. in its acquisition of Bridge2 Solutions, a leading provider of loyalty solutions for digital assets. 
• Represented NCR Corporation in its acquisition of grocery e-commerce leader Freshop Inc. 
• Represented private equity firm Pamlico Capital in its acquisition of Millennia Patient Services, a provider of technology and services related to the management and collection of patient self-pay accounts receivable for hospitals and physician groups. 
• Represented TRGRP, Inc., a portfolio company of Pamlico Capital, in its add-on acquisition of Market Data Insights LLC, a provider of market data management solutions to financial services companies.
• Represented U.S. Bank and its payments subsidiary Elavon in the sale of its Mexico-based payments operations to Banco Santander. 

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REITs

• Represented the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Broadstone Net Lease Inc. (“BNL”) in BNL’s internalization of its management involving the acquisition of Broadstone Real Estate LLC by BNL’s operating company, Broadstone Net Lease LLC. 
• Represented the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Preferred Apartment Communities Inc. with the company’s internalization of its external advisor and sub-advisor. 
• Represented Ready Capital Corporation on its entry into a definitive merger agreement with Anworth Mortgage Asset Corporation, a specialty finance REIT that focuses primarily on investments in residential mortgage-backed securities.
• Counsel to SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc., financial advisor to the special committee of the board of directors of Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT II, Inc. in its acquisition by Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT, Inc.

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