Independent brokerage firm Griffiths McBurney & Partners says that its partners have approved an initial public offering of common shares of GMP Capital Corp., a newly formed corporation that, in connection with the offering, will acquire the business carried on by Griffiths McBurney and its subsidiaries.

A preliminary prospectus relating to the offering has been filed with Canadian securities regulators.

Griffiths McBurney & Partners focuses on serving corporate clients and institutional investors. The firm offers investment banking, sales and trading, and investment research.

The firm has 41 partners and 105 employees in offices in Toronto, Calgary, Montreal and Geneva, Switzerland.

“Since our inception in March 1995, we have grown and excelled as a private partnership. We believe that access to the public capital markets will enhance our competitive position, afford us greater opportunity to grow our existing business and allow us to expand into new businesses that complement our current operations, including retail distribution and merchant banking,” said Kevin Sullivan, CEO of Griffiths McBurney, in a news release.

The offering will be sold through a syndicate of underwriters led by CIBC World Markets and including Griffiths McBurney & Partners, BMO Nesbitt Burns, Dundee Securities, Canaccord Capital, Haywood Securities, McFarlane Gordon and Sprott Securities.