(Bloomberg) — B. Riley Monetary Inc. agreed to promote a portion of its wealth-management enterprise to Stifel Monetary Corp. for as a lot as $35 million in money, the most recent in a collection of asset gross sales aimed toward slicing the money-losing funding agency’s debt load.
The transaction doesn’t embody B. Riley’s roughly 190 unbiased advisers or its 90 tax professionals, the corporate mentioned in an announcement Friday. The ultimate worth might be based mostly on the variety of advisers that make the transfer, with as many as 50 of them — together with their related buyer accounts — anticipated to affix Stifel early subsequent yr.
The accounts shifting signify complete property underneath administration of about $3.5 billion to $4.5 billion as of Sept. 30.
Shares of B. Riley have tumbled lately as its investments soured and US authorities probed a few of its enterprise offers and disclosures. The Los Angeles-based agency additionally missed a deadline for submitting its second-quarter monetary statements, that are nonetheless pending. Chief Govt Officer Bryant Riley and his firm have mentioned there’s been no wrongdoing and so they’re cooperating with authorities.
“The previous yr has proved disruptive to our wealth-management enterprise, with opponents making the most of the noise surrounding our principal investments enterprise,” Bryant Riley mentioned within the assertion. “We determined to take a proactive method for individuals who needed a contemporary begin and located a well-respected accomplice in Stifel.”
Shares of the corporate superior 0.8% in early New York buying and selling. They tumbled 72% this yr by Thursday.
Final month, B. Riley struck two offers to lift money, together with divesting rights to its secure of shopper manufacturers for $236 million. The corporate additionally agreed to promote a majority stake in its Nice American enterprise to funds managed by Oaktree Capital Administration LP.
The asset gross sales might assist B. Riley bolster its stability sheet because it wrestles with a debt load that totaled about $2 billion at midyear. The corporate suspended its dividend in August to place a precedence on slicing leverage, and lately renegotiated its key mortgage with phrases that included paying down the stability and terminating a revolving credit score line.
