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PNC eyes Oppenheimer
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May 8, 1997: 9:12 a.m. ET
Oppenheimer reportedly in talks to be acquired by Pittsburgh's PNC Bank
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) -- Wall Street securities firm Oppenheimer & Co. is reportedly in talks to be acquired by PNC Bank Corp. in a deal that could be worth as much as $500 million.
No formal agreement has been reached yet in the cash, stock and option deal and it is not certain whether the buyout will even happen, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Neither Oppenheimer and the Pittsburgh-based PNC would comment on the discussions.
PNC is not the only bank interested in Oppenheimer. Boston's Fleet Financial Group is also planning to review Oppenheimer's financial status.
Oppenheimer has had recent negotiations with Germany's Bayerische Vereinsbank AG and ING Group, a Dutch banking firm. In both cases talks broke down in the late stages of what were serious offers.
The German deal would have required Oppenheimer to sell its one-third stake in Oppenheimer Capital, an institutional money-management firm, which it has resisted.
However, Oppenheimer has agreed to sell the stake to Imco Advisors L.P., so the Capital group would not be part of a PNC buyout.
Oppenheimer has been looking for a buyer for nearly two years. It recently increased its attractiveness by closing its unsuccessful Latin American group in February.
The buyout would be the latest in a series of acquisitions of securities firms by banks, including Bankers Trust's recent merger with Alex Brown & Sons. J.P. Morgan & Co. is also reportedly looking at acquiring Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
Oppenheimer has 650 retail brokers and a small corporate finance business. It is a small player by Wall Street standards, however. It estimated its fiscal 1997 pre-tax profits to be $70 million and has equity capital of $320 million.
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