B. Riley to Acquire Majority Stake in New York Finance Company

B. Riley Financial Inc. has agreed to a $22.9 million deal that will give it a majority stake in New York financial services firm National Holdings Corp., the Woodland Hills company announced Monday. B. Riley has already purchased 24 percent of National Holdings shares at $3.25 a share. It plans to buy New York-based Fortress Biotech Inc.’s 32.1 percent share in the company for the same price. “This investment represents an exciting opportunity, both from an investment and strategic point of view,” said Chairman Bryant Riley in a statement. “We have been impressed with the operational and cultural changes implemented by National Holdings’ new management team over the last two years. We believe our shareholders will benefit from this opportunity to strategically invest in a growing, profitable business, below book value and near cash value.” National Holdings offers retail brokerage and advisory services, institutional sales and trading, equity research, financial planning and other services. It earned $167 million in revenue over the first three quarters of this year. The company will continue to operate independently under Chief Executive Michael Mullen. Shares of B. Riley fell 20 cents, or around 1 percent, to close Monday at $17.52 on the Nasdaq.