Cassatt & Company

Cassatt & Company was a Philadelphia based investment banking and brokerage firm founded in 1872. The firm was acquired by Merrill Lynch in 1940, shortly after Merrill's merger with E.A. Pierce & Co. that created Merril Lynch, E.A. Pierce & Cassatt.

Cassatt & Company
TypeAcquired
IndustryFinancial services
FateAcquired in 1940 by E.A. Pierce Merrill Lynch
PredecessorLloyd, Cassatt & Company
SuccessorMerrill Lynch, E. A. Pierce and Cassatt
Merill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Beane (later Smith)
Founded1872
FounderRobert K. Cassatt
Defunct1940
HeadquartersPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
ProductsBrokerage, Investment banking

The Cassatt name was dropped in 1940 when the newly combined firm acquired New Orleans-based Fenner & Beane.

History

Founding and early history

The firm, which was originally known as Lloyd, Cassatt & Company was founded by Robert S. Cassatt, father of railroad executive Alexander Cassatt.[1]

By 1919, the firm had offices in Philadelphia, New York, Pittsburgh and Baltimore.[2]

Acquisition by Merrill Lynch and E.A. Pierce
Main articles: Merrill Lynch and E.A. Pierce & Co.

In 1931, the firm split its investment banking business from its traditional brokerage business.[3]

In 1934, Cassatt began discussions with E.A. Pierce & Co., the largest brokerage firm in the U.S. at the time about a potential merger.[4] In 1935, these discussions resulted in a partnership between the two firms. As part of the deal, Cassatt transferred its brokerage business to E.A. Pierce and focused exclusively on investment banking and merchant banking.[5]

In the late 1930s, E.A. Pierce began discussions with Merrill Lynch about a potential merger. E.A. Pierce was struggling financially in the 1930s and was thinly capitalized.[6] Following the death of Edmund C. Lynch in 1938, Winthrop Smith began discussions with Charles E. Merrill, who owned a minority interest in E.A. Pierce about a possible merger of the two firms. On April 1, 1940, Merrill Lynch, E.A. Pierce & Cassatt was formed when the two firms merged and also acquired Cassatt & Co.[6]

References
  1. Alexander J. Cassatt. New York Times, June 18, 1899
  2. Cassatt & Co. to Open Branch. New York Times, July 1919.
  3. CASSATT & CO. FORM UNDERWRITING UNIT; Stock Exchange Firm Divides Investing Business From Brokerage Activities. New York Times, August 1931
  4. Merger of Cassatt & Co. And Pierce & Co. on Way. New York Times, December 1934
  5. Business & Finance: Personnel. TIME Magazine, January 14, 1935
  6. Co-leaders: the power of great partnerships John Wiley and Sons, 1999
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