RCS Capital (RCAP) said early Monday that FINRA has approved its $1.15 billion purchase of Cetera Financial's broker-dealer operations, which include about 6,600 independent financial advisors.
Meanwhile, RCAP affiliate American Realty Capital Properties (ARCP) reportedly is in talks to buy NorthStar Realty Finance Corp., according to Bloomberg. NorthStar is a loan originator and manager of commercial real estate debt.
ARCP, led by Nicholas Schorsch, bought Cole Real Estate Investments last year. Schorsch also is executive chairman of RCAP. (Schorsch is named in the IA 25 for 2014.)
Realty Capital announced its deal with Cetera in January and says it "expects to close the Cetera acquisition in the coming days in accordance with the merger agreement."
The company is also buying Investor's Capital (ICH), J.P. Turner and Summit Brokerage Services—giving it about 9,000 reps and roughly $200 billion in assets.