B. Riley Financial (BRF) has offloaded its advisory services unit to funds managed by TorQuest Partners, a Canadian private equity firm, for $117.8m.

The advisory services arm comprises GlassRatner Advisory & Capital Group (operating as B. Riley Advisory Services) and B. Riley Farber Advisory.

The Los Angeles-based financial services firm acquired GlassRatner in August 2018.

It anticipates to record a gain of around $66m from the latest deal in its second-quarter financial results.

GlassRatner specialises in a range of professional and advisory services, including bankruptcy and restructuring, forensic accounting, litigation support, construction engineering consulting, transaction support, executive search services, and compliance, risk, and resilience consulting.

GlassRatner CEO Ian Ratner said: “Growing GlassRatner in close partnership with Bryant, Tom, and the entire BRF team, has been an incredible journey. 

“We’ve built a leading platform providing bankruptcy and restructuring services, forensic accounting and litigation support, and other specialty advisory solutions.”

GlassRatner collaborates with law firms, lenders, private equity sponsors, and various companies to address complex business issues, including major acquisitions or divestitures, fraud investigations, corporate litigation, and business crises or bankruptcies.

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GlassRatner has around 200 employees across offices in the US, Canada, and Mexico.

BRF chairman and co-CEO Bryant Riley said: “BRF’s primary focus moving forward is to return to its historic roots by investing in BRS, our middle-market investment bank, and its complimentary business, B. Riley Wealth Management.

“Divesting GlassRatner will provide additional capital to support growth initiatives and strengthen our capital structure. Maximising shareholder value through ongoing reinvestment in our business remains a critical priority.”

BRF, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, offers solutions in investment banking, institutional brokerage, private wealth and investment management, financial consulting, corporate restructuring, appraisal and valuation, as well as auction and liquidation services.

In November 2024, BRF agreed to sell a portion of its wealth management business to Stifel Financial, a US-based firm.

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