Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. (BHC) was a leading middle market investment banking firm headquartered in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. The firm was founded in 1975 by Erskine Bowles and Thomas Hollowell. In April 1998, Bowles Hollowell was acquired by

First Union First Union Corporation was a bank holding company that provided commercial bank, commercial and retail banking services in eleven states in the Eastern United States, eastern U.S. First Union also provided various other financial services, incl ...

. The former Bowles Hollowell and would later constitute a significant portion of the investment banking operations of

Wachovia Wachovia was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo and Company in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States, based on total asset ...

after its acquisition of First Union. Bowles Hollowell had assets of $18 million as of January 1, 1998. Bowles Hollowell was active in the

private equity Private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public; instead it is offered to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the co ...

and

leveraged buyouts A leveraged buyout (LBO) is the acquisition of a company using a significant proportion of borrowed money ( leverage) to fund the acquisition with the remainder of the purchase price funded with private equity. The assets of the acquired company ...

. The firm had represented more than 75 different private equity firms in the mid-1990s and Bowles Hollowell actively covered more than 275 private equity firms across the United States. Additionally, Bowles Hollowell provided advisory services to middle market companies and large corporations. The firm had capabilities in a variety of industries including automotive, food products and distribution, building products, technology, textile, healthcare and aerospace & defense.First Union to Expand Investment Banking Capabilities with Acquisition of Bowles Hollowel Conner
Press Release, March 10, 1998

References

Charlotte Business Journal, March 28, 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowles Hollowell Conner and Co. Wells Fargo Defunct financial services companies of the United States Financial services companies established in 1975 Financial services companies disestablished in 1998 1998 mergers and acquisitions Former investment banks of the United States Companies based in Charlotte, North Carolina 1975 establishments in North Carolina 1998 disestablishments in North Carolina