Services

Raymond James Investment Banking

Raymond James is a full-service investment bank with national as well as international capabilities. Comprised of more than 500 capital markets professionals, Raymond James is one of the most highly regarded middle-market equity offering and advisory practices in investment banking today.

During the past five years, we have completed more than 450 managed offerings raising nearly $100 billion in capital for corporate issuers. During that same period, we executed over 130 M&A transactions, including both buy-side and sell-side assignments, with total transaction values exceeding $20 billion.

As a Raymond James client, you have access to the services offered by our investment banking department. To learn more about Raymond James Investment Banking, please contact me and I will put you in touch with the appropriate team.

Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Raymond James Bank, member FDIC, affiliated with Raymond James Financial Services and Raymond James & Associates, Inc.

Expertise

Industry Segment Teams

Our industry segment teams have expertise in eight core markets: Business Services, Consumer & Retail, Energy, Financial Services, Healthcare, Industrial Growth, Real Estate, and Technology & Communications. Our focus on these sectors means our bankers are experts in their industries, with the ability to provide insightful, knowledgeable advice to our clients.

The eight key industry segments our teams represent are directly aligned with our equity research practice. Today, the Raymond James equity research department has more than 50 research analysts covering nearly 700 public companies. Their research helps our bankers stay abreast of market valuations and trends across their respective industries and sub-sectors.

Specialty Transactions Teams

In addition to our industry segment teams, the investment banking department has four specialty transaction groups.

The Strategic M&A Group is composed of professionals on all aspects and intricacies of merger and acquisition transactions. They provide our industry teams the in-depth knowledge needed for success, particularly in special situations such as tender offers, leveraged buyouts, providing takeover defenses and offering fairness opinions.

The Recapitalization and Restructuring Group partners with our industry teams to assist companies, creditors and equity investors facing financial challenges. These circumstances may include in- or out-of-court financial restructurings, exchange offers and consent solicitations, fairness and solvency opinions, recapitalizations, and mergers and acquisitions.

The Financial Sponsors Group is dedicated to building and maintaining relationships with private equity firms that invest in middle-market companies. Our relationships with private equity firms combined with our knowledge of their investment strategies and portfolio companies allow us to offer our corporate clients access to an extensive network of investors.

The Middle-Market M&A Group is dedicated to buy- and sell-side advisory across all industries, not just those in which we specialize. The bankers in this group are generalists and tend to handle assignments for privately held businesses valued between $20 million and $100 million.

Capital-Raising Services

When seeking capital, companies often have multiple sources and options. Some businesses may simply need a loan. Others may require equity capital to grow. Raymond James can help established companies raise equity capital through both the public and private markets.

On the public equity side, Raymond James is an active underwriter of initial public offerings and follow-on offerings. In fact, Raymond James has served as lead- or co-manager on more than 450 public offerings in the last five years. Before accessing the public equity markets for capital, a company must be of certain size and consequence to effect a successful transaction.

Outside of the public equity arena, Raymond James helps companies raise capital through private placements of equity or preferred securities. This method of capital raising is most commonly used by private businesses; however, it can be employed by public entities as well. Finally, Raymond James also helps public companies raise capital through the issuance of convertible debt securities.

As a Raymond James client, you have access to the services offered by the investment banking department. To learn more about Raymond James Investment Banking, please contact me and I will put you in touch with the appropriate team.

Advisory Services

Buy- and Sell-Side Advisory Services

Raymond James Investment Banking is comprised of seasoned professionals who specialize in assisting business owners achieve their liquidity objectives. Whether that involves a sale to an industry buyer, responding to an interested party or partnering with a private equity sponsor – the teams can provide the structuring and execution vital to a successful exit.

Similarly, RJ can help companies identify, value and fund the purchase or acquisition of another business.

Approximately 70% of our assignments are sell-side transactions. As the company’s advisors, we manage the entire sale process, from inception through closing. While the process will vary somewhat depending on the owner’s objectives, the size of the company, the nature of the industry and market conditions, the basic steps in the process are outlined below.

Outside of a retainer fee, we are only compensated if we execute a successful transaction for our client. Therefore, we must understand and have confidence in our ability to attain the owner’s goals before we undertake an assignment.

Our professionals are knowledgeable at maintaining a competitive environment, a critical factor in maximizing the company’s value. They also understand how to structure the deal to maximize after-tax proceeds and minimize ongoing liabilities. Finally, they evaluate buyers and their proposed financing to maximize the probability of closing with desirable terms.

Sell-Side Advisory Process

Phase 1: Preparation. As the company’s advisor, we begin by gaining an understanding of the owner’s objectives as they relate to value, timing, confidentiality, ongoing ownership, existing employees and more. Then, we perform a detailed investigation of the company in an effort to understand every facet of our client’s business. This helps us assess the company’s value and prepare marketing materials that effectively communicate the value proposition to potential buyers.

Phase 2: Marketing. Next, we create a list of potential buyers, including strategic and/or financial buyers, based on our knowledge of each buyer’s acquisition criteria. While, in some cases, more than 100 potential buyers may be contacted, it is not unusual to target a much smaller number of the most likely buyers. In all cases, no potential buyer is contacted without our client’s approval.

The process of contacting buyers, communicating the investment merits, coordinating confidentiality agreements, answering questions and receiving initial bids is time-consuming. We manage this process, so that management can focus on operating the business.

Phase 3: Due Diligence. Once initial bids are received, we assist the owner in determining which parties are worthy of proceeding to the next step. In the next phase, we work closely with management to provide each party access to detailed information on the company, including a site visit and management presentation, to ensure they have sufficient information to make a final offer.

When the final offers are received, we assist the owner in determining the winning bidder and negotiating the letter of intent, or LOI.

Phase 4: Closing. Once the LOI is signed, the process shifts to confirmatory due diligence and preparation of the legal documents. We continue to act on our client’s behalf, ensuring everything moves according to schedule towards closing. During this period, we work closely with the owner’s attorney and accountant in the negotiation of the remaining contractual terms to maximize after-tax proceeds and minimize ongoing liabilities.

The typical sale process will take approximately six to nine months from the time the owner’s team is assembled.

Other Advisory Services

Raymond James assists companies, creditors and stakeholders across a spectrum of corporate liquidity situations. These circumstances may include Chapter 11 financial restructurings, credit agreement restructurings, divestiture analysis and execution, debtor in possession (or “DIP”) and exit financings.

Our teams also provide valuation analyses for businesses and ESOPs. This service is similar to a business appraisal in that it entails assessing the value of the business.

In addition, we offer fairness opinions to shareholders, as well as to boards of directors and their committees in cases where they require an independent third party to opine on the fairness of a transaction. Most often, fairness opinions are performed in conjunction with M&A transactions, to ensure that shareholders are getting a fair deal in the merger or acquisition of their company.