Punter Southall Acquires U.S. Adviser Firm

Punter Southall Transaction Services, the specialist transaction consulting division of the UK’s Punter Southall Group, and P-Solve, the investment and risk management division of the Punter Southall Group, made the acquisition to expand their range of services and gain a further presence in the provision of pension-related corporate advice in the United States.

Palisades Capital Advisors provides solutions to corporate finance and U.S. pension issues with a particular focus on merger and acquisitions, restructurings and industry-wide pension arrangements. Palisades Capital Advisors and Punter Southall Transaction Services have worked together since 2009 helping Nortel Networks Inc. deal with its U.S. and UK pension issues while it progresses through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process.

According to Richard Jones, managing director of Punter Southall Transaction Services, “Recent developments in the U.S. market, with a more pro-active Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, are leading to an increasingly aligned pensions regulatory framework across the Atlantic. Palisades are the key player in this shift in the U.S. market and the acquisition will enhance and complement the services that Punter Southall Transaction Services can provide.”

Ryan McGlothlin, managing director and co-head of P-Solve’s U.S. business, added, “We are delighted to have acquired a business of Palisades Capital Advisors’ caliber. Their approach to treating pension issues as a corporate finance problem fits well with our focus on financial risk management and allows us to bring our solutions into situations where pension issues are acute.”

“The tie-up will allow us to access the support available from a larger organization including the high-quality actuarial and investment services for U.S. clients, as well as providing the opportunity to continue to work on global mandates with Punter Southall Transaction Services,” said John Spencer, head of Palisades Capital Advisors.

Palisades has offices in New York and Washington D.C., and a small stake will be retained in the business post-acquisition by Reservoir Capital Group who funded the start-up of Palisades in 2007.