• Evans Dixon has completed the acquisition of Fort Street Advisers.
• Fort Street will be merged with the Evans Dixon Capital Markets business to create Evans Dixon Corporate & Institutional.
• The shares and cash deal is valued at $53.9 million.

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Wealth management firm Evans Dixon has bought boutique investment bank Fort Street Advisers for $53.9 million.

Fort Street will be merged with the Evans Dixon Capital Markets business to create Evans Dixon Corporate & Institutional division.

Evans Dixon will also acquire another 25% stake in joint venture companies Fort Street Real Estate Capital Pty Limited and Fort Street Real Estate Services Pty Limited, taking its interest up to 75%.

Fort Street Real Estate Capital is active commercial real estate investment management platform managing 12 properties across four closed funds with total assets of $730 million.

The company says the deal is a good cultural and ethical fit.

“Fort Street Advisers and Evans Dixon were founded and built on a cultural, ethical and professional platform of providing trusted advice in a client focused service model,” says Evans Dixon.

“Both businesses have been driven by expertise, commitment and reputations of the key personnel. There is strong alignment and familiarity between both businesses, including the management of a successful commercial real estate joint venture since 2013.”

Fort Street, established in 2009, has executed more than 70 advisory mandates across a range of sectors.

Its leadership team of Richard Hunt, Ben Keeble, Steve Hawkins, Joel Denney and Ian Holmes will all play key roles in Evans Dixon Corporate & Institutional.

Executive Chairman of Evans Dixon, David Evans, says there’s an opportunity to benefit from the expertise of Fort Street and Evans Dixon to create a leading Australian corporate advisory and capital markets platform.

“Evans Dixon and Fort Street Advisers are highly complementary businesses,” he says.

“Each was founded and built on a cultural, ethical and professional platform of providing trusted advice in a highly client-centric service model. Each business has been driven by the expertise, commitment and the reputations of their key personnel.

“Between the firms, many of our key executives have worked together extensively. Indeed, Evans Dixon and Fort Street also know one another well, having worked closely together on various matters since 2013, including the successful Australian commercial property joint venture, the Fort Street Real Estate Capital Fund series, as well as other specific client mandates.”

Evans Dixon is paying 14.3 million fully paid ordinary shares plus a cash payment of $23.4 million for Fort Street, a total of $53.9 million based on the closing price of $2.13 Friday. A short time ago, the shares were trading at $2.10.

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