Wellington West Capital Inc. of Winnipeg is buying 50% of Toronto’s Harris Partners Ltd.

Under the deal, Harris will become Wellington West’s institutional trading division, and will be known as Wellington West Capital Markets Inc. The transaction is expected to close in October, subject to regulatory approvals.

The new Harris Partners is an institutional equities firm created in March 2004 by Brian Clouse, Nirvaan Meharchand, and Greg Thompson through the purchase of the operating assets of Toronto-based Harris Partners, a member of the Investment Dealers Association and Toronto Stock Exchange.

Over the past five months, the new Harris Partners has grown to 12 professionals in equity research, institutional sales and trading, and corporate finance.

“This business combination is advantageous all-around,” Thompson, Harris Partners’ president, said in a release. “Our equity clients, many of whom are independent firms themselves, are looking to see strong and growing independent distribution networks for their products. Our corporate issuer clients will benefit from our direct access to a premier, high quality, highly productive retail distribution network for their underwritings. Most important, we’ll be able to continue recruiting additional, high profile members from the institutional community, because of the opportunity to build a personal equity interest directly in the institutional arm as well as the combined firm.”