The move reunites former United Capital acquisition executives Matt Brinker and Allen Darby.
Merchant Investment Management announced Thursday it has acquired a noncontrolling stake in Alaris Acquisitions, a Mooresville, N.C., startup that offers deal origination services for registered investment advisors.
Alaris acts as a matchmaker for investment advisory firms looking to buy or sell. It works with firms to identify RIAs that are a suitable target and negotiates the deal, collecting fees from the buying firm only if a deal is closed. For selling firms, that saves the investment banking fees they would normally pay to execute the deal, Alaris executives said.