Knight Global LLC, Family Office Of Ryan Kavanaugh, Acquires Bay Mutual Financial, $22 Billion Full Service Asset Management Firm

SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Knight Global, the family investment office of Ryan Kavanaugh, today announced that it has acquired one hundred percent of Bay Mutual Financial ("BMF"). Knight Global is managed by CEO and President Matthew Kavanaugh and Chief Investment Officer Philippe Faraut.

BMF is a premier independent boutique full-service financial advisory firm licensed as both a broker/dealer (B/D) and international registered investment advisor (RIA).  BMF has over $22 billion under management, covering all asset classes and specializing in pensions and defined contribution plans of Fortune 500 companies.

BMF has four divisions: Private Client Group; The Plan Advisors; Strategic Financial Consulting Services; and the Foundations and Endowments Division. The Private Client Group serves a diverse range of clients ranging from entertainment luminaries, to business leaders, to small business owners, to investors and retirees.

The Plan Advisors division of BMF serves over thirty retirement plans with a highly diverse group of sponsors, balanced among different industries.  As leaders in the defined contribution space, The Plan Advisors provide clients with a wide scope of services extending far beyond simple asset analysis and advising.

BMF provides Strategic Financial Consulting Services to a diverse clientele, including, but not limited to: raising capital, trading securities, cash management, divestiture, mergers, acquisitions, investment management, global transaction banking, compliance, and more intricate and specialized client needs.  While heavily involved in traditional finance, the firm is committed to remaining at the cutting edge of today's global financial environment, specializing in the spectrum of private equity transactions.

The Foundation and Endowment Division provides highly cost effective services to a spectrum of not-for-profit institutions. BMF utilizes one of Wall Street's largest clearing firms, Pershing LLC, a division of The Bank of New York Mellon, to provide clearing, execution, and custodial services. 

Prior to this acquisition, Knight Global had investments with a total value of over $1 billion in private and public company value.  Knight Global focuses on early to mid-term growth stage companies where it can strategically invest and utilize its resources to help accelerate the companies' growth. This transaction is subject to customary regulatory approval.

Investment examples include Dog For Dog, one of the fastest growing dog food and product companies in the world; Shoutz, which holds the exclusive advertising and digital contracts with Power Ball and Mega Million lotteries (along with other countries' lotteries) as well as diversified holdings in multiple industries such as consumer goods, real estate, aviation, biotech and technology.  Investments also include companies such as Monster Media, Moblity, Shadowsms.com, hangover patch, and several others.  Knight also has various investments in other hedge funds. In addition, Knight Global owns and operates an aviation company, which is fully diversified including charter, government contracts, and pilot training.

Most recently, Knight recognized a significant profit from Juno, the largest Biotech IPO of 2014, a company that recently went public on its cancer treatment technology and platform, which was created in part by the Kavanaugh brothers' father, Jack Kavanaugh, who is an MD, DDS and MBA. The cancer treatment originally created at ZetaRx, which was formed and run by Jack Kavanaugh, is showing a reported 89% complete non-reoccurring remission of certain types of tumors. Knight Global is currently involved in a number of other biotech and pharmaceutical investments.

"Through its acquisition of BMF, Knight Global continues to expand its footprint in creating a highly synergistic platform," said Matthew Kavanaugh, CEO and President of Knight Global.  Matthew became CEO and President of Knight Global in 2013 after spending the better part of a decade representing a number of high profile entertainment, venture and tech clients as a practicing lawyer.  As an attorney at Eisner Kahan Gorry (now Eisner Jaffe), Matthew focused his practice on being a one stop shop for all of his clients' mergers and acquisitions, corporate, real estate, entertainment, intellectual property and litigation needs.

Philippe Faraut, Knight Global's CIO, commented: "Through this acquisition Knight Global will be able to bring unique investment opportunities to BMF and its clients, and will allow it to broaden the spectrum and diversity it brings to all of its investments."  Philippe joined Knight Global earlier this year after holding the position of Managing Director at Intrepid Investment Bankers.  He held prior senior positions at the Sage Group and Merrill Lynch.  In his prior positions Philippe spearheaded transactions including J Brand, NYDJ, Jimmy Choo, Wally's, Perry Ellis, and many others.

Bud Pernoll, founder, Senior Managing Director and CEO of BMF, will continue as CEO and Chairman of BMF and will also assume the position of President of Public Markets at Knight Global. "After building a diversified public securities brokerage over the past 12 years – and after my career at Morgan Stanley and Wachovia (now Wells Fargo) – it became clear the alliance with Knight Global will allow BMF to bring a new array of unique, diversified and generally only available to a select few, investments to its clients."  Pernoll continued: "BMF has always worked to bring to its clients the best in class assets. After doing diligence on the assets and investments at Knight Global it became clear that BMF will be able to continue to operate as a nimble boutique firm and yet add on new product offerings that are best in class."

"I've worked with Ryan for almost 20 years and couldn't be more excited and confident that this partnership is one of those rare occasions where one plus one equals 11," concluded Pernoll.

Tom Demko, Managing Director and President of BMF will continue in this role and will additionally assume the newly created positon of Executive Vice President of Public Markets at Knight Global.  "We couldn't be more excited to join forces with Ryan and Knight Global's entrepreneurial ethos and progressive worldview."

MEDIA CONTACT:
Rachel Hunter
Knight Global
212-333-3810

SOURCE Knight Global LLC