Meridian Capital Acquires Moss Adams’ Seattle Investment Division
Published April 16, 2021
Seattle-based Meridian Capital LLC has acquired the Seattle division of Moss Adams Capital, the firms announced Monday.
The move positions Meridian among the top two investment advisory firms in the Puget Sound region, joining Cascadia Capital LLC.
Moss Adams Capital employees and clients will transition to Meridian effective Jan. 1.
The firms have been doing business together for years. That working relationship between Meridian and other divisions of Moss Adams, one of the top 10 accounting firms in the U.S., will continue.
Brian Murphy, Meridian’s president and managing director, said his firm acquired Moss Adams Capital (known as MAC Seattle) partly for its expertise in two investment disciplines: agribusiness as well as engineering, construction and building products.
“The construction, engineering services and building products aligns very well with a lot of the work we’ve done over the past 10 years in diversified industrials,” Murphy said in an interview.
He added that the building sector has been an area where the firm wants to expand its practice because “we see a lot of investment activity in those areas, and based on the backlogs … throughout the Western U.S. and particularly the Seattle area, we think it’s an attractive sector for years to come with a lot of family entrepreneur and family-owned businesses.”
Murphy said the firm wanted to expand in the agribusiness sector because it aligns with the firm’s existing food and beverage practice and allows Meridian to provide “a full, end-to-end service offering across food and beverage.”
Those practices will join Meridian’s existing investment practices of aerospace and defense, diversified industrials, consumer and technology.
Following the transition, Meridian will have 30 investment banking professionals and will be positioned as one of the largest middle market investment banking firms in the Western U.S., Murphy said.
Joining Meridian from Moss Adams are MAC Seattle managing director James Rothenberger as well as Brandon Leyert, Devon Asmussen and Paul Huiras, all associates.
Written by:
Tony Lystra
Tech Editor
Puget Sound Business Journal
