Wilmington Trust Completes Acquisition of Wealth Advisory Firm in Boston
July 02 2007 - 7:55AM
Business Wire
Wilmington Trust Corporation (NYSE:WL) announced it has completed
the acquisition of Bingham Legg Advisers LLC, a Boston-based wealth
management firm that specializes in tax-sensitive investment
strategies for high-net-worth individuals and families. Bingham
Legg Advisers (BLA) is now under the Wilmington Trust name and its
employees are staff members of Wilmington Trust. BLA president and
CEO Peter E. Simmons is now president of Wilmington Trust�s Wealth
Advisory Services (WAS) office in Boston, which is located in the
financial district on Milk Street. �With the acquisition of BLA
complete, Wilmington Trust now has an outstanding team of wealth
advisors on the ground in one of the nation�s top high-net-worth
markets,� said Ted T. Cecala, Wilmington Trust chairman and CEO.
�Our expansion into Boston leverages investments we have already
made in our company and reflects our strategy to grow our
businesses.� BLA was established in 1999 in a joint venture between
what is now Bingham McCutchen LLP, a leading international law
firm, and global asset manager Legg Mason, Inc. BLA has
high-net-worth clients in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. As of March
31, 2007, BLA had $1.5 billion in assets under management and
another $887 million in assets under supervision. �We are pleased
to become part of Wilmington Trust and look forward to helping the
company grow its presence in Boston and throughout New England,�
said Mr. Simmons. �This alignment strengthens our capabilities and
allows us to add new services for our clients.� Terms of the deal
announced on May 7 were not disclosed. BLA�s revenue and expenses
will be consolidated into Wilmington Trust�s financial statements.
The acquisition is expected to be modestly accretive to Wilmington
Trust�s earnings in 2007. This acquisition follows other
investments Wilmington Trust has made in recent years in its WAS
business, which provides investment management, fiduciary services,
and family office services to affluent clients in all 50 states and
in 35 other countries. In 2006, Wilmington Trust significantly
expanded its family office services practice on the East Coast by
opening new WAS offices in Connecticut, New Jersey, and
Pennsylvania, and added fundamentally weighted and multi-manager
real asset mutual funds to its investment platform. �Although we
have served high-net-worth clients in New England for many years,
we have been seeking the right opportunity to expand our physical
presence in the region,� said Rodney P. Wood, executive vice
president and head of the WAS business for Wilmington Trust. �With
a similar approach to client service and an excellent reputation,
BLA was the ideal fit.� Wilmington Trust Corporation (NYSE:WL) is a
financial services holding company that provides Regional Banking
services throughout the Delaware Valley region, Wealth Advisory
Services for high-net-worth clients in 36 countries, and Corporate
Client Services for institutional clients in 86 countries. Its
wholly owned bank subsidiary, Wilmington Trust Company, which was
founded in 1903, is one of the largest personal trust providers in
the United States and the leading retail and commercial bank in
Delaware. Wilmington Trust Corporation and its affiliates have
offices in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia,
Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania,
South Carolina, Vermont, the Cayman Islands, the Channel Islands,
London, Dublin, Frankfurt, and Luxembourg. For more information,
visit www.wilmingtontrust.com.
Wilmington (NYSE:WL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Wilmington (NYSE:WL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024