Birmingham, AL-headquartered Sterne Agee has entered into a letter of intent to acquire the Richmond, VA-based brokerage firm Anderson & Strudwick for an undisclosed amount, subject to customary due diligence and regulatory approvals.

The acquisition is expected to be completed within the next 90 days, and will expand Sterne Agee's wealth management presence in the eastern US, Knoxville, Tennessee and Chicago, the firm said in a statement. Anderson & Strudwick has a network of 18 offices.

As part of the deal Damon Joyner, president and chief executive at Anderson & Strudwick, will become a senior managing director at Sterne Agee.

Sterne Agee provides investment banking and wealth management, and already operates a number of offices across 23 states. A request for further information was not returned by the firm at the time of publication.

Earlier this year the investment banking firm made an unsolicited attempt to acquire all the outstanding common stock of New York-listed SWS Group, which has registered investment advisor and broker-dealer subsidiaries, according to SEC filings. The board of directors of Dallas, TX-based SWS unanimously rejected the offer.