RBC Capital Markets today announced the completion of its acquisition of Seasongood & Mayer, LLC, the state of Ohio’s top-ranked public finance firm and leading underwriter of municipal debt.

As part of the proposed deal, RBC has also acquired Seasongood Asset Management, a wholly owned subsidiary and investment advisor to public funds clients.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The merger bolsters RBC Capital Markets’ leadership position in the U.S. municipal investment banking market while enhancing its overall presence in Ohio and in K-12 education finance nationally. In addition to being the top negotiated underwriter in Ohio, the combined RBC entity, based on 2006 rankings, is the No. 1 ranked municipal finance firm nationally in both U.S. middle market issues and the K-12 school finance sector.

“Our U.S. Municipal issuance business has more than doubled over the past decade — this deal will help fuel our momentum and further strengthens our franchise as one of the leading municipal finance platforms in the United States,” said Larry Holtz, head of municipal markets for RBC Capital Markets.

Seasongood Asset Management currently manages US$1.5 billion in assets for public fund clients in the Ohio region. The asset management portion of the Seasongood business will operate under the name RBC Public Fund Services as a joint venture between RBC Capital Markets and RBC’s Voyageur Asset Management.

RBC Capital Markets municipal finance business ranked in the top five in 2006 in the states of Arizona (1st), Pennsylvania (1st), Colorado (2nd), Texas (4th) and New Jersey (5th). All five states rank in the top 15 issuer states in the U.S. RBC Capital Markets ranked eighth last year in the U.S. in senior-managed negotiated municipal bond underwriting volume. Seasongood & Mayer has been the No. 1 ranked municipal finance firm in Ohio for 12 consecutive years.