F.N.B. Corporation FNB and its wholly-owned broker-dealer subsidiary are set to acquire Raptor Partners LLC, an independent investment (IB) banking firm.

Details of the Raptor Buyout by FNB

Raptor, based in Pittsburgh, is an independent IB firm primarily engaged in delivering financial advisory services to public and private firms. It has a team of experienced professionals specializing in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, valuation advisory and private capital raising.

Raptor, offering advisory services to numerous clients across diverse industries, has completed roughly $40 billion worth of deals.

FNB expects the Raptor transaction to be completed in the second quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions.

Upon closure of the deal, Craig Wolfanger, founder and president of Raptor, will join F.N.B. Corp. as managing director and head of IB. Further, Raptor will support FNB’s strategic initiatives to expand and diversify non-interest income by adding enhanced capital markets capabilities.

Rationale Behind Acquisition Pursued by F.N.B. Corp.

This move aligns with FNB’s growth strategy to expand its business and diversify revenue streams. Further, it will complement the company’s ongoing efforts to improve non-interest income.

Vincent J. Delie, Jr., chairman, president, and CEO of F.N.B. Corp., stated, “FNB has continually invested in its Capital Markets capabilities, which positions us as a trusted advisor for our clients and has driven a 137% increase in revenue over the past decade. The addition of investment banking rounds out our offerings, enabling FNB to provide clients with advisory services throughout their entire business life cycle.”

“We believe this is an opportune time to invest in FNB’s investment banking platform to advise our middle market and large corporate clients given the scale of our company and the changing economic outlook,” Delie further added.

Shares of F.N.B. Corp have declined 16.8% in the past six months compared with the industry’s 14.8% decline.

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FNB currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Expansion Efforts by Other Finance Firms

Last month, Mr. Cooper Group Inc. COOP and Rocket Companies, Inc. RKT jointly announced an agreement under which COOP will be acquired by RKT in an all-stock deal valued at $9.4 billion. This will create a mortgage behemoth in the United States, with the combined firm servicing $2.1 trillion of loans and 9.5 million clients.
 
Rocket anticipates substantial financial benefits from the transaction, including $100 million in additional pre-tax revenues from improved recapture rates and the integration of its title, closing and appraisal services with Mr. Cooper’s operations. Further, the company expects $400 million in pre-tax cost savings by streamlining operations and reducing corporate expenses.
 
These synergies will support earnings growth, making Mr. Cooper’s acquisition immediately accretive to RKT’s adjusted earnings per share upon closing (expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2025).

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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