Financial Services Acquisitions in Tennessee

Lower, a VC-backed digital mortgage lender, has acquired Acopia Home Loans to expand its retail origination footprint across the Southeastern United States. The deal brings 14 branch locations, 36 loan originators and more than $425 million in annual production into Lower's platform and will operate as Team Acopia within Lower's Southeast division.

Anchor Health Properties has acquired a majority interest in Chestnut Funds, which will operate as Anchor Health Capital, a fund advisory and investment management subsidiary. The combination creates a vertically integrated platform to expand Anchor’s healthcare real estate investment capabilities and capital flexibility; Chestnut co‑founder Steen Watson will continue to lead the new subsidiary as President.

Public, the New York–based investing platform, has acquired the CryptoIRA business from Alto. The deal transfers Alto's crypto IRA product and related technology to Public so that Public members will be able to trade cryptocurrencies within their IRAs once integration completes in early 2026.

Houston-based wealth advisor Americana Partners has acquired Nashville-based SEC-registered investment advisory firm Goodpasture Gray, bringing more than $300 million in client assets into Americana and establishing a Nashville presence. The deal expands Americana’s national footprint and adds a specialized practice focused on high-net-worth clients, including athletes and entertainers; Dynasty Investment Bank served as exclusive financial advisor to Goodpasture Gray.

Provana, a tech-enabled services provider for financial institutions, has acquired Palinode, the maker of the Sonnet credit dispute management platform. The deal will integrate Palinode's Sonnet product into Provana's AI-driven platform to expand credit dispute investigation and resolution capabilities for banks and other financial institutions.

EP Wealth Advisors has acquired Nashville-based Criterion Capital Advisors, LLC, marking EP Wealth's first office in Tennessee and adding over $500 million in assets under management. The Criterion team — led by co-founder Allan Horner and partners Mark Pierce and Scott Freeman — will join EP Wealth; financial terms were not disclosed.

Kingswood U.S. has acquired Nashville-based Eudaimonia Partners and Eudaimonia Advisors, two registered investment advisory firms representing more than $1 billion in client assets and 17 advisors. The deal, which closed Sept. 1, 2024, expands Kingswood's presence in the southeastern U.S., adds scale to its RIA business and provides access to Eudaimonia's turnkey asset management platform.

Estancia Capital Partners has completed a capital partnership investment in StrategyCorps to fund product development, business development, enhanced client services, and targeted acquisitions. Estancia selected First Eagle Investments and Andalusian Credit Partners as capital partners for the transaction, which closed on June 28, 2024.

Steward Partners announced the acquisition of Seven Arrows Financial and the launch of a new Nashville, Tennessee office, bringing eight partners and contributing to more than $1 billion in new client assets for early 2024. The advisory firm said the team will affiliate on its RCS platform under a 1099 contract as part of its continued recruiting-driven national expansion.

Creative Planning LLC has acquired Memphis-based Telarray Advisors, adding roughly $1.0 billion in AUM and bringing 18 employees into Creative Planning’s platform. The acquisition expands Creative Planning’s footprint in Tennessee as the firm continues growth (Creative Planning manages or advises on over $225 billion in assets).

Pittco Direct Investments II, LP (the direct investing arm of Pittco Management) completed a follow-on equity investment in MediaMark Factoring, a Tennessee-based specialty finance firm that provides receivables liquidity to the media and construction development sectors. The additional capital from Pittco, the single-family office of Joseph R. "Pitt" Hyde III, is intended to support MediaMark’s continued growth and execution in its target markets.

Pittco Direct Investments II, LP, the direct investing arm of Pittco Management (the Pitt Hyde family office), completed a minority equity investment in MediaMark Factoring, a Tennessee-based specialty finance company that provides receivables liquidity to out-of-home media and construction development firms. The investment is intended to support MediaMark's scaling efforts and expand its solutions for the OOH media and construction industries.

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD Bank Group) agreed to acquire First Horizon Corporation in an all-cash transaction valued at US$13.4 billion (US$25.00 per share). The deal creates a top-6 U.S. bank, giving TD immediate scale and presence across the U.S. Southeast while retaining First Horizon's Memphis hub and client-facing bankers.

Merchant Investment Management (Merchant) completed a minority growth-capital investment in Southwestern Investment Group (SWIG), a Franklin, Tennessee-based registered investment advisor overseeing approximately $5.8 billion AUM. The transaction (closed in November) will leave SWIG independent while management and advisors take ownership stakes and leverage Merchant's capital and strategic resources to support continued growth and sustainability.

Mercer Global Advisors, Inc. (Mercer Advisors) acquired HawsGoodwin Investment Management, Inc. d/b/a HawsGoodwin Wealth, a Franklin, Tennessee-based RIA that manages approximately $680 million in AUM across ~280 clients. The entire HawsGoodwin team will join Mercer, expanding Mercer's Tennessee presence and broadening its wealth management, estate planning and family office capabilities.

Acrisure has acquired Appalachian Underwriters, a national Managing General Agency (MGA) and third‑party administrator (TPA) that places more than $400 million in gross written premium across Workers' Compensation, Commercial Specialty, Personal Lines and wholesale distribution. Acrisure said the deal will broaden its technology platforms by integrating Appalachian's claims and underwriting dataset into its data and AI strategy and expand its distribution capabilities. Terms were not disclosed.

The Mather Group (TMG), a family- and employee-owned wealth management firm, has acquired Nashville-based registered investment adviser Eugenias Advisory Group (EAG). EAG manages more than $162 million in AUM with a five-person team and will continue operating from its Nashville office as TMG expands its national footprint.

UniversalCIS has acquired the Lending Solutions and Appraisal Management divisions of Data Facts, enhancing its mortgage origination platform and appraisal management capabilities. The deal expands UniversalCIS' geographic footprint and is the company's first acquisition since receiving an investment from Lovell Minnick Partners; financial terms were not disclosed.

Hub International Limited has acquired the assets of Aegis Retirement Group, LLC, a Memphis-based retirement plan consulting and wealth management firm. Walter Grant, Aegis's founder and president, will join Hub Retirement and Private Wealth as the deal strengthens Hub's retirement and wealth management capabilities in the Mid-South region. Terms were not disclosed.

Arete Wealth, a Chicago-based independent broker-dealer, registered investment advisor and insurance firm, completed its stock purchase acquisition of Center Street Securities, a Nashville-based broker-dealer and registered investment advisor founded in 1990. The transaction expands Arete Wealth's product capabilities by adding publicly registered offerings for non-accredited investors and strengthens its alternative-investment and wealth-management scale; combined AUM post-close is $5.7 billion with 265 registered representatives and 100 offices.

AEGIS Hedging Solutions has acquired Nexidus Commodities to expand its hedging capabilities into base and precious metals. The transaction was completed in partnership with private equity investor Trilantic North America, which recently invested in AEGIS to support its growth; AEGIS' founders remain significant equity holders and Baird Capital retains a material stake.

Lineage Financial Network, Inc. signed separate merger agreements to acquire Sumner Bank & Trust (Gallatin, Tenn.) and Citizens Bank & Trust Company (Atwood, Tenn.), with Citizens' parent Bumpushares, Inc. also merging into Lineage. Upon closing (expected Q2 2020, subject to approvals), both banks will operate as separately managed, wholly-owned subsidiaries of Lineage while retaining their local names and staffs and gaining Lineage's technology and capital to support growth.