The Leucadia National Corporation said on Mondaythat it would buy the Jefferies Group in a deal valued at about $3.6 billion.
Shareholders of Jefferies will receive 0.81 of a Leucadia share for each of their shares, the announcement said. That represents a 24 percent premium to the closing price of Jefferies on Friday.
Leucadia, a conglomerate that has been likened to a"baby Berkshire Hathaway" because of the wide range of its holdings, already ownsabout 28.6 percent of Jefferies. After the deal closes, Jefferies shareholders will own 35.3 percent of the combined company.
The deal will give Jefferies adeep-pocketed owner as it continues to build out a full-service investment bank. The firm has sought toraise its profile in businesses like mergers advisory in partto provide a counterbalanceto its core business of trading stocks and bonds.
The firm's stock price has outperformed those of larger rivals like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley over the last five years, though all three banks havestruggled since the onset of the financial crisis.
Jefferies survived questions about its holdings in European debt last year, quickly selling off government bonds in an effort to assuage market fears.
Richard B. Handler, chairman and chief executive of Jefferies, will become Leucadia's chief. Joseph S. Steinberg, Leucadia's president and co-founder, will become chairman of the combined company. Ian M. Cumming, Leucadia's other co-founderand its current chairman and chief executive, will retire but remain a director.
"Having known Joe and Ianfor over two decades, this transaction represents the realization of a personal dream for me," Mr. Handlersaid in a statement. "I am honored with the trust and confidence Ian and Joe are demonstrating by allowing us to carry on their life's work."
