Financial Services Acquisitions in Illinois

Chicago-based Rothschild Wealth Partners has acquired Windgate Wealth Management, an independent advisory firm managing over $200 million in client assets. The deal expands Rothschild's advisory footprint in the Chicago market and brings Windgate leaders onto Rothschild's platform to broaden services for high-net-worth individuals, families and business owners.

First Financial Bancorp completed its all-stock acquisition of Chicago-based BankFinancial Corporation, adding 18 retail financial centers and expanding First Financial’s presence in the Chicago market. The acquisition brings BankFinancial’s commercial lending, equipment finance and deposit franchise onto First Financial’s platform and increases the combined company’s assets to approximately $22 billion.

Cantor Fitzgerald announced the successful first closing of its acquisition of the UBS O'Connor alternative investment platform, transferring two O'Connor hedge fund strategies to Cantor Fitzgerald Asset Management (CFAM). Further funds and assets will transfer in phases through Q1 2026, with CFAM and UBS Asset Management working together to ensure a seamless transition for clients and fund investors.

Waverly Advisors has acquired certain business lines from Chicago-based Promus Holdings, adding approximately $3.1 billion of AUM and expanding Waverly's private equity, real estate, and multi-family office capabilities. The deal closed November 14, 2025; financial and legal terms were not disclosed, and Waverly formed a new subsidiary, Promus Capital Management, to operate the acquired strategies.

Merit Financial Advisors has acquired Blueprint Wealth Advisors, adding $1.2 billion in assets and expanding Merit's presence in Illinois and Wisconsin, including entry into the Chicago market. Blueprint’s managing partners Ryan Evans and Nick Wilkins will join Merit as Regional Directors and Partners; FP Transitions served as advisor and financial terms were not disclosed.

Rothschild Wealth Partners, a Chicago-based registered investment advisor and broker-dealer, has acquired Siligmueller & Norvid Wealth Advisors (SNWA), an independent Glen Ellyn, Illinois wealth advisory firm managing about $300 million in client assets. The deal expands Rothschild's presence in the Chicago area and adds SNWA’s client relationships and advisory capabilities to Rothschild’s platform.

Savant Wealth Management, a fee-only RIA headquartered in Rockford, Illinois, acquired Evanston-based Gryphon Advisors, a fee-only RIA with approximately $557 million in AUM. The deal closed Sept. 30, 2025; Gryphon’s seven employees transitioned to Savant, and the firm’s three principals joined as member-owners, expanding Savant’s Chicagoland presence and adding tax capabilities.

ORIX Corporation USA has completed the acquisition of a majority equity stake in Hilco Global, which will operate as a subsidiary of ORIX USA while Hilco's executive leadership retains a minority ownership position. The transaction reorganizes Hilco into two divisions—Professional Services and Capital Solutions—to expand its valuation, advisory, and asset-based private credit capabilities leveraging ORIX USA's capital and lending expertise.

Apella Wealth has acquired Park Piedmont Advisors, a fee-only advisory firm led by brothers Nick and Tom Levinson, adding over $1 billion in AUM and establishing Apella’s presence in Chicago. The deal is an add-on to Apella’s platform (which is partnered with Wealth Partners Capital Group) and expands Apella’s national footprint and resources for Park Piedmont’s clients.

Daybright Financial has acquired Hessel & Associates, LLC, a Lincolnshire, Illinois–based pension consulting firm and third-party administrator (TPA). The deal expands Daybright's Private Sector Retirement Solutions presence into the Midwest, with Hessel founder's daughter Brooke Hessel Cline continuing as Managing Partner within Daybright.

Ocorian has completed its acquisition of E78 Fund Solutions from Element 78 Partners LLC; E78 will rebrand to Ocorian later this fall and its management team will join Ocorian's US leadership. The deal expands Ocorian's fund administration, outsourced CFO, tax and compliance capabilities in the United States, bringing on a team that supports nearly 200 managers with about $85 billion in assets under management.

GeoWealth raised $38 million in a Series C round led by Apollo, with participation from BlackRock, J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Kayne Anderson (sub-advised by Composition Capital), to accelerate its UMA and public-private model portfolio capabilities. In conjunction with the funding, GeoWealth formed a strategic partnership with Apollo and completed the acquisition of TAMP assets from Freedom Advisors to strengthen its product and operations offering for RIAs.

Maridea Wealth Management has acquired Pinnacle Wealth Management, a Chicago-based advisory firm led by veteran advisor Brian Sheehy. Pinnacle will move from LPL Financial to Maridea's independent RIA platform, strengthening Maridea's Midwest presence and expanding its advisor and client capabilities; Green Sail Capital Partners served as exclusive sell-side advisor.

New York Mortgage Trust (NYSE: NYMT) acquired the remaining 50% interest in Constructive Loans in an all-cash transaction, bringing Constructive wholly under NYMT ownership while preserving its independent subsidiary operations and leadership. The deal strengthens NYMT’s origination capabilities and recurring income profile by integrating Constructive’s proprietary origination channels and distribution network focused on business-purpose loans for residential real estate investors.

Octus (formerly Reorg) has acquired Sky Road, a provider of credit portfolio management solutions, to integrate portfolio management, trading/OMS, compliance and optimization capabilities with Octus' credit intelligence, data and document-management offerings. The combination creates a unified, end-to-end credit management platform for buy-side and structured credit managers, embedding Octus' data and AI into Sky Road's Galaxy platform.

Acorns has acquired EarlyBird, a family-focused investment gifting and digital memory platform. EarlyBird will shut down and customer accounts will be closed on June 23, while founders Jordan Wexler and Caleb Frankel join Acorns to help build out the Acorns Early product; financial terms were not disclosed.

NorthRock Partners acquired the advisory practice of veteran advisor Tony Pondel, adding his team to NorthRock’s Chicago-area presence. The deal expands NorthRock’s footprint in the Chicago market and integrates Pondel’s expertise into the firm’s Personal Office wealth management model.

Byline Bancorp, Inc. completed its merger with First Security Bancorp, Inc., effective April 1, 2025, with First Security merged into Byline Bank. Under the terms, each share of First Security common stock was converted into 2.3539 shares of Byline common stock; the total merger consideration at closing was approximately $41.5 million and First Security preferred shares were redeemed for about $2.4 million. The transaction increases Byline's total assets to approximately $9.8 billion.

Wendel has completed the acquisition of a controlling stake in Monroe Capital LLC alongside AXA IM Prime, taking approximately 75% ownership while Monroe management retains a minority interest. Wendel invested roughly $1.13 billion and committed seed and GP capital (up to $1.0 billion total) plus an $800 million sponsor program to accelerate Monroe’s private credit platform; Monroe will continue to operate independently under its current leadership.

Kraken has completed the acquisition of NinjaTrader, a leading U.S. retail futures trading platform, in a transaction valued at $1.5 billion. The deal, which buys the company from Long Ridge Equity Partners after a five-year ownership period, expands Kraken’s capabilities into traditional derivatives and aims to integrate NinjaTrader’s futures platform into Kraken’s product suite while operating NinjaTrader as a standalone brand.

SmartBiz (formerly SmartBiz Loans) closed its acquisition of United Community Bancshares, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary Centrust Bank, N.A., receiving regulatory approval to operate as a bank and bank holding company under the SmartBiz Bancshares, Inc. banner. The deal brings Centrust’s commercial banking team and SBA lending capabilities into SmartBiz Bank to expand technology-enabled lending and full-service banking for small and medium-sized businesses nationwide.

Clearstead Advisors, a Cleveland-based RIA backed by Flexpoint Ford, has acquired the assets of Waveland Family Office LLC, a northern Chicago suburban family office with approximately $420 million AUM. The deal closed January 31; Waveland’s six employees will join Clearstead and principals Allen C. Berg and Dennis Zaslavsky will join as equity partners, expanding Clearstead’s Midwest presence and capabilities.

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has acquired 100% of the American Financial Exchange (AFX) from 7RIDGE. The purchase brings AFX's interbank lending marketplace and the AMERIBOR benchmark into ICE's broader index and mortgage technology network to expand capabilities for regional, midsize and community banks.

Blue Owl Capital Inc. completed the acquisition of the business of digital infrastructure fund manager IPI Partners, LLC. The deal brings IPI's digital infrastructure capabilities and AUM into Blue Owl's Real Estate platform and appoints IPI Managing Partner Matt A'Hearn to lead Blue Owl's digital infrastructure strategy.

Summit Financial, through its Summit Growth Partners (SGP) partnership, made a strategic minority investment in Midway Wealth Partners, a Chicagoland-based wealth advisory team managing approximately $550 million in client assets. Midway will continue to operate under its existing leadership while gaining access to Summit's platform resources, capital, and multi-family office services to support growth and expand Summit's presence in Illinois.

The Marygold Companies, Inc. (NYSE American: MGLD) purchased a 7.95% ownership position in Delaware-based Midland Capital Holdings Corporation (MCHC) for $1.8 million, and also received warrants to buy additional shares. MCHC's principal operating entity is Midland Federal Savings and Loan Association, headquartered in Bridgeview, Illinois; Marygold says the investment supports its strategy of expanding in financial services/fintech and will help enhance the bank's offerings and technology.

Mission Wealth Management, LP has merged with Stonepath Wealth Management LLC, bringing Stonepath founder Cray J. Coppins III into Mission Wealth as its 38th equity partner. The deal expands Mission Wealth’s Midwest/Greater Chicago presence (an office in the Highland Park area is planned) and strengthens advisory capacity for clients in Illinois; Mission Wealth manages roughly $9.1 billion in client assets.

Midfed Acquisition Corp., led by bank executives and investors, has acquired Midland Capital Holdings Corporation, the holding company of Midland Federal Savings and Loan Association, in a transaction that paid $31.65 per share and resulted in MCPH delisting from the OTC Pink Market. The deal gives the new owners control of Midland Federal’s four Illinois branches and is intended to expand product offerings, enhance technology and improve community convenience for the bank’s customers.

C&R Software, part of the CORA Group, has acquired SpringFour, a pioneering financial-health fintech, to bolster its collections, recovery and financial health capabilities. SpringFour will continue to operate as a standalone brand under CEO Rochelle Nawrocki Gorey, and the acquisition is intended to expand SpringFour's reach and enhance C&R's product offering for clients worldwide.

Janus Henderson Group has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Victory Park Capital Advisors, a Chicago-based private credit manager that specializes in asset-backed lending and structured financing. The transaction expands Janus Henderson’s private credit capabilities and insurance-focused solutions, and is expected to close in Q4 2024 subject to customary regulatory approvals.

n2 Group has completed the acquisition of STAC, the leading financial services technology performance specialist, with STAC to operate as an independent business within the n2 Group. The deal brings STAC's benchmarking, research and events capabilities into the n2 portfolio to expand the group's offerings for low-latency trading, big compute, big data and AI/ML use cases while preserving STAC's impartial status.

Global investment firms Carlyle and KKR have agreed to purchase an approximately $10.1 billion portfolio of prime student loans from Discover Financial Services. Carlyle's Monogram LLC will serve as portfolio manager and Firstmark Services (a Nelnet subsidiary) will service the loans; the transaction is expected to close by the end of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions.

Blue Owl Capital agreed to acquire Kuvare Asset Management (KAM) for $750 million, funded with a mix of cash and Blue Owl Class A common stock; the acquisition is expected to add up to $20 billion of AUM to Blue Owl and support the launch of Blue Owl Insurance Solutions. Separately, Blue Owl made a $250 million preferred equity investment in Kuvare to provide growth capital to Kuvare's insurance businesses; most KAM employees are expected to join Blue Owl at closing.

BlackRock has completed the acquisition of SpiderRock Advisors, a Chicago-based asset manager specializing in option overlay strategies for separately managed accounts (SMAs). SpiderRock — which manages roughly $4.8 billion in AUM — will be integrated into BlackRock’s U.S. Wealth Advisory business to expand SMA customization and option-overlay capabilities for financial advisors and clients.

Capital One Financial Corporation completed a definitive all-stock acquisition of Discover Financial Services, exchanging 1.0192 Capital One shares for each Discover share and creating a combined global payments and banking platform. The transaction brings together Capital One's technology-enabled banking franchise and Discover's payments network to scale merchant acceptance, expand consumer and small-business offerings, and generate significant cost and network synergies.

Relation Insurance Services acquired the assets of Kane Insurance Agency, effective December 1, 2023. The deal expands Relation’s geographic footprint in Illinois and brings Kane’s risk-management expertise and local team (led by Tom Kane) into the Relation platform; terms were not disclosed.

Tradeweb Markets Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire r8fin, a Chicago-based provider of algorithmic execution technology and a thin-client EMS for U.S. Treasuries and interest rate futures. The deal, expected to close in Q1 2024 subject to customary approvals, will augment Tradeweb's execution capabilities across cash and futures markets and is expected to be accretive to 2024 EPS.

The McGowan Companies acquired certain assets of Protexure Insurance Agency, Inc., a national program manager specializing in professional liability insurance for lawyers and accountants, in an asset purchase effective November 1, 2023. Protexure's staff will remain in place under leader Kyle Nieman as McGowan adds Protexure's products and capabilities to support its national growth strategy.

Creative Planning has acquired Mesirow Financial's corporate retirement advisory services team, bringing a team that serves over 350 retirement plans with approximately $13 billion in assets under advisement. The move expands Creative Planning's Retirement Services capabilities and scale, integrating experienced retirement specialists into its platform.

BharCap Partners, a Greenwich-based private investment firm focused on financial services, has completed the acquisition of ARMStrong Receivable Management, a leading commercial B2B receivable management and insurance services provider based in Itasca, Illinois. The seller was Incline Equity Partners, which had partnered with ARMStrong in 2019; BharCap plans to support continued growth and strategic M&A as part of its investment.

IMC, a global market maker, has acquired Chicago-based proprietary trading firm Cardinal Capital Management, LLC. The firm will be renamed IMC Securities and is intended to expand IMC's liquidity-provision capabilities in the US equity derivatives (options) market; terms were not disclosed.

Michigan State University Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU) has entered into a definitive purchase and assumption agreement to acquire substantially all assets and assume substantially all liabilities of Algonquin State Bank and its parent, First Algonquin Company. The transaction, which is subject to customary regulatory and shareholder approvals and expected to close in late Q1 2024, expands MSUFCU’s presence in the Chicago market and increases its Illinois footprint to 10 branches (35 branches across two states) and contributes to a combined institution with roughly $8.3 billion in assets.

South Street Securities Holdings, Inc. acquired all equity interests in GX2 Systems, LLC, including its wholly owned broker-dealer GX2 Spread Markets, LLC, to expand its technology-enabled U.S. Treasury execution, market making and analytics capabilities. GX2 will continue operating from its Chicago office while integrating trading and broker-dealer operations into South Street's New York platform; GX2 leadership (David Jaberg) will join South Street's executive team following regulatory approvals and subsequent broker-dealer consolidation.

Hub International Limited acquired the assets of E-Insure Services, Inc., a Chicago-based direct-to-consumer insurance lead generation platform, and will integrate the E-Insure team into its VIU by HUB LLC personal insurance brokerage platform. The acquisition brings advanced data-driven marketing and targeting capabilities to VIU to improve lead quality, conversion rates and reduce customer acquisition costs; terms were not disclosed.

Planet Home Lending, part of Planet Financial Group, has acquired the assets of Platinum Home Mortgage Corporation, inheriting the majority of its origination staff and more than 20 branch offices. The acquisition expands Planet's retail footprint across the Midwest, Northwest and West Coast and brings additional purchase-focused production and loan officers to Planet's platform.

7RIDGE, a specialized growth equity firm, has acquired 100% of the American Financial Exchange (AFX) to accelerate growth of the AFX platform and expand adoption of its AMERIBOR benchmark. The transaction preserves a Cboe Global Markets subsidiary as a service provider to AFX and aims to deepen AFX’s role as a provider of credit-sensitive benchmarks to U.S. banks and financial institutions.

NFP has acquired David A. Marcus & Associates, Inc. and Deerfield Financial Group, LLC, both based in Deerfield, Illinois, with the deal closing on January 13, 2023. The acquisition expands NFP’s benefits, retirement and wealth-management capabilities in its Central region; founder David A. Marcus will join NFP and report to the region president.

SageView Advisory Group, a Newport Beach-based independent RIA backed by Aquiline Capital Partners, has agreed to acquire Lakeview Wealth Management of Deer Park, Illinois. The six-person, women-led Lakeview team will join SageView to expand the firm's presence in the Chicago-area and enhance its retirement and wealth management capabilities.

Miami International Holdings, Inc. (MIH) has completed the acquisition of Dorman Trading, LLC, a Chicago-based futures commission merchant (FCM) that provides execution and clearing services for introducing brokers, retail customers, institutional clients and professional traders. MIH said the deal expands its futures trade execution, listing and clearing capabilities and will enable growth of services offered to Dorman Trading’s customers.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. acquired Quincy, Illinois–based retail insurance agency Cason, Huff & Schlueter Insurance; terms were not disclosed. The acquired team's leaders and associates will remain in place and operate under Gallagher’s Midwest retail property/casualty brokerage leadership to expand the firm’s capabilities in the Midwest.