News Details

Fifth Third Bancorp announced today that Fifth Third Securities, Inc. (Fifth Third Securities) has agreed to bring Challenger Capital Group’s team of M&A professionals to Fifth Third Securities. The team, headed by Mike Burr, has a strong track record of success in advising middle market companies on a wide range of strategic transactions including M&A, and accessing the capital markets.

As employees of the Capital Markets division of Fifth Third Securities, Burr and his team will provide capital markets and M&A advisory services to clients. The agreement was finalized after a two year period during which Fifth Third Securities solely referred M&A and strategic advisory clients to Challenger Capital Group.

“The addition of Mike Burr and his talented team is a major step forward for our M&A business,” said Bob Marcus, Managing Director and Head of Capital Markets. “Mike and his team will be instrumental in the execution of our strategy to bring unique and differentiated capital markets advice and execution capabilities to our middle market clients and prospects.”

Burr and his team bring experience in a wide range of industries including: consumer products, energy, entertainment, food service, healthcare, industrial products, media, natural gas, oilfield service, publishing, retail, and telecom sectors.

“The Challenger team is excited to join Fifth Third’s Capital Markets Group. The opportunity to formally align our M&A and capital raising capabilities, with an organization committed to delivering client-based corporate finance solutions is very compelling,” said Mike Burr, President of Challenger Capital. “We’ve had the opportunity to partner with Bob and his team of bankers during the last two years. This step is reflective of our confidence in the strategic capabilities that Fifth Third Securities is building.”

Fifth Third Securities is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Fifth Third Bancorp and offers full service retail brokerage services to individual clients and broker dealer services to the institutional marketplace. The Capital Markets division provides full-service investment banking, debt underwriting, and capital markets capabilities to clients of Fifth Third Securities and its affiliates.

Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Company has $130 billion in assets and operates 17 affiliates with 1,311 full-service Banking Centers, including 104 Bank Mart® locations, most open seven days a week, inside select grocery stores and 2,614 ATMs in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Georgia and North Carolina. Fifth Third operates four main businesses: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending, and Investment Advisors. Fifth Third also has a 26% interest in Vantiv Holding, LLC. Fifth Third is among the largest money managers in the Midwest and, as of March 31, 2014, had $281 billion in assets under care, of which it managed $26 billion for individuals, corporations and not-for-profit organizations.

Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com. Fifth Third’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ® Global Select Market under the symbol “FITB.” Fifth Third Bank was established in 1858.

Fifth Third Securities is the trade name used by Fifth Third Securities, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fifth Third Bank, a registered broker-dealer and a registered investment advisor registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Securities and investments offered through Fifth Third Securities, Inc. and insurance products:

Insurance products made available through Fifth Third Insurance Agency, Inc.

Fifth Third Bancorp
Sean Parker, 513-534-6791