Silicon Valley Bank subsidiary sold to management team

Healthcare investment firm SVB Securities announced Sunday that its management team would buy out the company from parent Silicon Valley Bank, the California-based lender whose brisk collapse in March shook financial markets.

SVB Securities had not been included in Silicon Valley Bank's bankruptcy filing.

"The SVB Securities management team bidder group led by CEO Jeff Leerink, and backed by The Baupost Group, today announced they have entered into a definitive agreement with SVB Financial Group to purchase SVB Securities following a competitive bidding process," the company said in a statement.

The amount of the buyout agreement was not specified, but the statement said that "with the strong financial backing from The Baupost Group, the firm is extremely well positioned to continue to build on its leadership position in healthcare investment banking."

"The management team and I are excited to return to our heritage of owning and leading the premier healthcare investment bank and relaunching the business under the trusted Leerink Partners brand," said Jeff Leerink, who founded the firm in 1995.

The deal will be subject to final confirmation by the US Bankruptcy Court and regulators "as well as other customary closing conditions," the statement said.

Federal regulators seized control of Silicon Valley Bank on March 10 after its disclosure of trading losses days earlier sparked a run of depositors.

The collapse came two days after Silvergate Bank announced it was winding down and was followed by troubles at Signature Bank.

 

AFP