The investment bank bearing the name of former San Antonio mayor Henry Cisneros is merging with another firm, although Cisneros’ name will not be included in the company’s new public name.
Siebert Cisneros Shank & Co. is merging with The Williams Capital Group in a deal expected to close in early November. The company’s new name will be Siebert Williams Shank & Co. The holding company for the merged company will be Shank Williams Cisneros, and Cisneros will remain as a principal and vice chairman at the merged company.
A spokesman for Cisneros said he was not available for comment, but in a statement Cisneros praised the merger, describing it as a pairing of the two firms that have achieved the top tier of their fields to create a firm that is one of the industry’s most successful multiasset, nonbank financial players.
“I could not be more proud of my partners,” Cisneros said.
Cisneros, who was U.S. Housing and Urban Development secretary under President Bill Clinton and a four-term mayor of San Antonio, joined the Siebert firm in 2015 when he bought a stake in the company. His name was added to the firm’s name the following year.
Suzanne Shank – majority stakeholder, co-founder, current president, and CEO of Siebert – will retain her position as president and CEO of the merged firm, and Christopher Williams, current CEO and founder of The Williams Capital Group, will become chairman of the board of directors after the merger.
The firm has headquarters in both New York and Oakland, California, along with 17 other locations throughout the nation, including one in San Antonio.
A spokesman said the merger between the top minority-owned corporate bond firm and the top minority-owned municipal bond firm will expand the capital for the resulting company by 50 percent.
Williams specializes in debt and equity financing and has worked with at least 65 Fortune 100 companies, while Siebert focuses on municipal financing and has been lead manager on hundreds of projects, totaling more than $30 billion.
Siebert is named for Muriel Siebert, who became the first woman to hold a seat on the New York Stock Exchange in 1967, and was a co-founder of the firm, which was established in 1996. She died in 2013.
The complete rebranding with the firm’s new name will become official in January.
