Morgan Keegan Seen in Sights of Stifel’s Low Margins: Real M&A

Stifel Financial Corp., the St. Louis-based brokerage that has quintupled revenue since 2005 with nine acquisitions, may find its biggest takeover opportunity yet in Regions Financial Corp.’s Morgan Keegan & Co.

Morgan Keegan may be attractive to Stifel for its retail brokerage, fixed-income business and presence in the U.S. Southeast, according to Silvant Capital Management LLC and FBR Capital Markets. Silvant’s Randy Loving said Stifel may be willing to pay as much as $1 billion, or six times more than its largest deal, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Guggenheim Securities LLC estimates Morgan Keegan may fetch as much as $1.5 billion, for Birmingham, Alabama-based Regions, which said last month it was considering “strategic alternatives” for the unit after paying $200 million to settle claims over subprime mortgage-backed securities.