BankAmerica Closes Robertson Stephens Acquisition

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones)--BankAmerica Corp. (BAC) completed its $540 million acquisition of San Francisco investment banking firm Robertson Stephens & Co. In a press release Wednesday, BankAmerica said Michael G. McCaffery will continue to run the investment banking business of Robertson Stephens as its president and chief executive. The asset management activities of both BankAmerica and Robertson Stephens are now headed by G. Randy Hecht, formerly chief operating officer and president of asset management for Robertson Stephens. Sanford R. Robertson, a founding partner of Robertson Stephens, was named as a director of BankAmerica. As reported June 9, BankAmerica agreed to buy Robertson Stephens for an initial payment of $245 million to the firm's managing directors, plus $225 million over a three-year period to managing directors who remain with the company, and another $70 million that will be held as compensation over a four-year period for managing directors and other employees who remain with the company.