Waller Capital Partners founder and chairman John Waller III has joined investment bank Stifel as managing director and vice chairman of its Telecom and Media Group, bringing a handful of executives along with him from the boutique investment firm he founded more than 35 years ago.

“We have known John and his team for many years and believe there is a great opportunity for them to help us enhance our technology franchise and further grow the firm’s investment banking business,” said Brad Raymond, Global Head of Investment Banking at Stifel in a press release.

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Waller, who will continue to be based in New York, founded Waller Capital Partners in 1982 to provide a bridge between entrepreneurial cable owners and New York’s larger capital sources. A highly experienced banker, he has been personally responsible for executing more than 100 cable mergers and acquisitions transactions over the past four decades. He was awarded the NCTA’s Vanguard Award in 1997 and elected as a Cable TV Pioneer in 2004 and was inducted into the Broadcasting &Cable Hall of Fame in 2017.

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“My colleagues and I are incredibly excited to join Stifel,” said John Waller in a press release. “We look forward to continuing our work with clients across the Telecom & Media industry and providing them best-in-class service on a new platform backed by Stifel’s talented people and extensive capabilities. Our team has tremendous momentum and is poised for even greater success at Stifel.”

Joining Waller at Stifel are managing director Steve Soraparu, who will be based in Chicago. Former Waller Capital managing director Jeff Brandon also retains that title with Stifel and will be based in New York.

Soraparu has nearly 20 years of investment banking experience within the Technology, Media & Telecom (TMT) industry. Prior to joining Waller Capital in 2007, he was with Legg Mason Capital. He began his career at Price Waterhouse where he served clients both in strategic consulting and financial accounting capacities.

Brandon has more than 20 years of investment banking experience, most of which has been concentrated in the media and entertainment industries. Prior to joining Waller, he was with Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., and was previously a corporate attorney with Latham & Watkins. Brandon began his career as an antitrust litigator with the United States Federal Trade Commission.