KeyCorp in Cleveland has agreed to buy Clearwater Corporate Finance, a U.K.-based middle market investment banking advisory firm.
Key said in a press release that the purchase will mark its entry into Western Europe. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2026. The price wasn’t disclosed.
The transaction builds on a multiyear partnership that KeyBanc Capital Markets and Clearwater began in 2020.
“Years of collaboration … generated significant value for clients on both sides of the Atlantic,” Randy Paine, president of Key Institutional Bank, said in the release. “This transaction is the natural next step in the relationship and directly supports our institutional banking growth strategy.”
KeyBanc Capital Markets and Davis Polk & Wardwell advised Key. Clearwater UK and Browne Jacobson advised the seller.