SVB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SIVB), the parent company of Silicon Valley Bank, agreed to acquire Leerink Holdings for $280 million. Leerink is a Boston-based parent company of Leerink Partners, a leading investment bank focused on the healthcare and life science industries.
SVB Financial will also provide an employee retention pool of $60 million to be paid over five years. The transaction has been approved by Leerink’s unitholders and is expected to close during the first quarter of 2019.
The new company, SVB Leerink, will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of SVB Financial. The acquisition complements SVB’s commercial banking and lending products with a full range of investment banking services focused on healthcare and life science companies.
“Together, we will deliver a complete capital markets offering, including debt, convertible debt and equity financing, as well as advisory services, including mergers and acquisitions, for private and public healthcare and life science companies,” Greg Becker, CEO of SVB Financial and Silicon Valley Bank, said in a statement. “The leadership team at Leerink Partners will remain in place and will run the business in much the same capacity as it operates today.”
“This merger represents an important step forward for our firm as we continue to strive to be an indispensable company-building partner to our expanding global client base,” said Jeff Leerink, chairman and CEO of Leerink, who will serve as CEO of the new company.
