Siebert Financial Corp (Siebert) has signed a non-binding letter of intent with Tigress Holdings, LLC whereby Siebert will purchase 24 per cent of the outstanding membership interests in Tigress Financial Partners (Tigress).
Tigress is the USA’s only disabled and woman-owned financial services firm providing institutional and high net worth investors with expertise in investment banking, capital markets, research, corporate advisory and global trade execution services, asset management and global wealth management.
In exchange, Tigress will receive 24 per cent of the outstanding membership interests in Siebert’s subsidiary WPS Prime Services, LLC (WPS Prime Services) and shares of Siebert common stock. Cynthia DiBartolo, Esq, the founder and CEO of Tigress, will join Siebert’s management team at the close of the transaction. The transaction has been approved by the Boards of both companies and is expected to close by the third quarter of 2021, subject to additional due diligence and customary closing conditions. Financial terms have not been disclosed.
“We identified a perfect alignment between Siebert and Tigress in July 2021 when Tigress became the nation’s first disabled and woman-owned floor broker and member of the NYSE in the Big Board’s 229-year history,” says Gloria E Gebbia, controlling shareholder and board member of Siebert, the parent of WPS Prime Services. “Muriel Siebert & Co, Inc. was founded in 1967 by the first woman member of the NYSE, Muriel Siebert, and has been in business longer than any other discount brokerage firm. The investment in Tigress represents our collaboration with the ideal partner to continue to build on Muriel Siebert’s legacy and our company’s core values as it expands our platform and distribution capabilities while enhancing our current relationships with vendors and partners. We are excited to welcome Cynthia DiBartolo to the Siebert family and look forward to partnering on initiatives to bring true equality to women and disabled populations on Wall Street.”
DiBartolo says: “Diversity and inclusion is a key component of our mission, and we are thrilled to partner with Siebert on this transaction. This partnership aligns two key broker-dealers on Wall Street that have a shared culture and mission of advancing diversity, equality and measurable impact within the financial services industry. Prime brokerage remains a key growth opportunity for Tigress due to the increased demand for critical diversity accountability. WPS Prime Services has complementary capabilities and relationships to our existing offerings that we look to expand over time.”
In this growing ESG environment, the investment in Tigress reinforces Siebert’s commitment to diversity and inclusion while continuing to align with the goals of its strategic partners. The alternative investment industry now places a higher bar on diversity, inclusion and equality of opportunity as a result of the growing demand for critical diversity accountability, which is no longer limited to transparency of diversity of ownership, leadership and workforce of money managers, but extends to the use and engagement of diverse professional suppliers. WPS Prime Services holds prime clearing relationships with Goldman Sachs and Pershing which have both been very public in their proactive efforts to advance diversity, equity, inclusion and impact across the financial services industry.
Similarly, Tigress takes great pride in being a strategic diversity partner to corporate issuers, bookrunners, hedge funds and private equity firms. Earlier this year, StoneX Group Inc., a Fortune 100 company, recognized the strength of the Tigress brand and selected Tigress as a strategic diversity partner and made an investment in the firm. This investment and partnership provide Tigress additional access to state-of-the-art infrastructure, global financial products, and the most expansive global distribution platform in the diversity broker-dealer sector.
