[ by Melanie Gretchen ]

Minneapolis-based Piper Jaffray is expanding its municipal business and geographic reach with the purchase of Seattle-Northwest Securities Corporation.  The acquisition of the public finance firm for $21 million by the investment bank and asset management firm will place the tangible book value of Seattle-Northwest at around $13 million.

Seattle-Northwest, founded in 1970, has an established presence in underwriting municipal securities, and its sales and trading division distributes bonds nationwide. Piper Jaffray, was founded in 1895, expects little geographic and business overlap in this deal, which further strengthens Piper Jaffray's public finance leadership in serving the middle market.  The acquisition is subject to approval by Seattle-Northwest shareholders, and is approved is expected to close in the second half of this year.

"Joining forces with Piper Jaffray will allow us to build on Seattle-Northwest's strength and reputation in the Pacific Northwest.  We believe there is a strong cultural fit between our firms, and our employees and clients will benefit from Piper Jaffray’s specialized products, deep inventory and strong capital base." -- Karl Leaverton, CEO and president of Seattle-Northwest.

For further details, go to [Finance Yahoo, 4/17/13].