Acquisition adds significant scale to Piper Sandler technology investment banking and positions team for future growth
Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR), a leading investment bank, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire DBO Partners, an independent technology investment banking firm in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Founded in 2012, DBO Partners provides trusted, client-focused M&A and capital raising solutions to leading public and private companies, private equity, venture capital and alternative investment firms. The team has led many of the largest and most complex transactions for its clients in key technology verticals, including software, security, engineering, semiconductors & infrastructure and emerging technology. In addition, DBO Partners’ dedicated private equity general partner advisory services will add a new and growing capability to the Piper Sandler investment banking platform. Notable transactions include AMD’s $35 billion acquisition of Xilinx, Dell Technologies $4 billion sale of Boomi and Thoma Bravo’s sale of a majority stake in Centrify to TPG.
“The DBO team has built an exceptional practice advising leading global companies on their most important transactions. The addition of DBO significantly increases our presence and capabilities in the technology sector and is an important step towards building a leading technology investment banking practice,” said Michael Dillahunt, global co-head of investment banking and capital markets at Piper Sandler.
DBO is co-led by three founding partners each with over 35 years of industry experience: Gordon Dean, Mark Bradley and Nick Osborne. Dean joined Morgan Stanley in 1986 where he rose to become a managing director, co-head of the western region and vice chairman of investment banking. Bradley started his career with Morgan Stanley in 1985 where he spent 25 years, including as the global head of the financial sponsors group from 2000–2012 and a member of the Investment Banking Management Committee. Osborne also joined DBO from Morgan Stanley where he was the head of global technology mergers & acquisitions. They are joined by Brian White, who has built a leading security investment banking business at DBO.
“We chose Piper Sandler because we share a client-first culture and they have a proven track record of adding successful, industry-focused, advisory businesses and enabling them with more capabilities and resources to provide enhanced solutions for clients and opportunities for their teams,” commented Nick Osborne, co-founder of DBO. “Importantly, the partnership with Piper Sandler is highly complementary to our business, with Piper Sandler’s existing team of talented technology banking professionals. Together we will continue to offer exceptional service and outcomes to our clients with more products, including debt and equity capital markets, more vertical expertise and more resources.”
The team including the three co-founders will be integrated into the Piper Sandler technology investment banking group. Nick Osborne will be named co-head of technology investment banking alongside current technology group head Steve Schmidt. Together, they will lead a group of over 50 investment banking professionals. Gordon Dean will be named vice chairman, investment banking, Mark Bradley will be named chairman, financial sponsor coverage and Brian White will be named head of security and defense technology. Piper Sandler’s expanded technology team will serve as an important pillar of growth for the firm’s investment banking business.
“We are thrilled to add DBO’s tenured team to our platform on the heels of what was a record-breaking year for our technology investment banking group in 2021. We look forward to combining our expertise to build a market-leading franchise,” said Steve Schmidt, head of technology investment banking at Piper Sandler.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2022 and is subject to customary closing conditions
Piper Sandler was advised by Sullivan and Cromwell LLP. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz served as legal advisor and KBW served as financial advisor to DBO Partners in connection with the transaction.
