RBC today announced it has signed an agreement to acquire Richardson Barr & Co., a leading Houston-based energy advisory firm specializing in acquisitions and divestitures in the oil & gas exploration and production sector.

Completion of the transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close by third fiscal quarter 2008. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Firms such as Richardson Barr specialize in assisting public and private companies in the divestiture of their oil and gas properties. The proposed transaction will give Richardson Barr the ability to provide its private company clients a complete range of financing and M&A support, as well as ready access to RBC’s strong public company relationships, solid financial resources, and expanded product capabilities in equity, high yield, loan syndications, private placement, and convertibles.

“We are extremely excited about joining forces with RBC Capital Markets,” says Scott Richardson, co-founding principal of Richardson Barr & Co. “This transaction will allow us to provide a much broader range of services to our clients, backed by the financial strength and stability of RBC.”

The acquisition bolsters RBC’s presence in the U.S. investment banking market.

“Richardson Barr brings to RBC Capital Markets a strong industry reputation, experienced engineers, geologists and finance professionals, a dedicated focus on acquisitions and divestitures in the exploration and production sector and a terrific cultural fit,” says Peter de Vos, RBC Capital Markets’ head of investment banking. “Among other benefits, this partnership also brings new M&A opportunities to our public market clients by providing them with private company asset transaction capabilities.”

As part of its mandate, the new entity, to be known as RBC Richardson Barr, will provide M&A support to RBC’s North American energy group in both the U.S. and Canada over time.