BNY Mellon signs definitive agreement to acquire Pinnacle Arbitrage Compliance

BNY Mellon has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Pinnacle Arbitrage Compliance, one of the largest independent US firms specialising exclusively on arbitrage compliance services for tax-exempt bond issues and conduit borrowers.

Based in Dallas, the privately held company handles a wide variety of requirements associated with arbitrage regulation. Terms of the agreement, expected to close by the end of 2009, were not disclosed.

"The acquisition of Pinnacle will significantly enhance the comprehensive range of services and transparency tools we offer to the public finance market in the United States," said Scott Posner, chief executive officer of BNY Mellon Corporate Trust. "With this acquisition, we will incorporate arbitrage compliance services into our offerings, providing issuers with seamless rebate reporting and information to help maximise investment returns on bond funds. It will help further differentiate BNY Mellon from other corporate trust providers and extend our leadership position in the municipal finance sector," he added.

"By joining BNY Mellon Corporate Trust, we will be able to integrate the established compliance services provided by our highly experienced staff with a broad array of trust services already recognized in the marketplace for innovation," said Terence Burke, Pinnacle president and chief executive officer, who will continue to oversee this business following the close of the transaction.

Established in 2006 by former professionals of the Ernst & Young Arbitrage Rebate Compliance Group when that firm made the decision to exit the service, Pinnacle Arbitrage Compliance is dedicated solely to arbitrage compliance services for tax-exempt bonds.

With additional offices in Charlotte, Houston, Memphis, Phoenix and St. Louis, Pinnacle's professional staff have performed tens of thousands of arbitrage compliance calculations for more than 1,000 issuers of almost every type of debt, including colleges/universities, counties, hospitals, municipalities, private activities, school districts, state agencies, and utilities.