NEW YORK and HOUSTON, Aug. 5 /EMWNews/ - RBC (RY on TSX

and NYSE) today announced it has completed the acquisition of Richardson

Barr & Co., a leading Houston-based energy advisory firm specializing in

acquisitions and divestitures (A&D) in the exploration and production (E&P)

sector. The new entity will be renamed RBC Richardson Barr. Terms of the

transaction were not disclosed.



    A&D firms specialize in assisting public and private companies in the

divestiture of their oil and gas properties. The merger gives RBC

Richardson Barr the ability to provide its private company clients a

complete range of financing and M&A support, as well as ready access to

RBC's strong public company relationships, solid financial resources, and

expanded product capabilities in equity, high yield, loan syndications,

private placement, and convertibles.



    "Clients of RBC Richardson Barr will continue to receive the same high

quality of service they've come to rely on, and will now also have access

to the full range of capital markets products and services that RBC

offers," said Scott Richardson, co-founding principal of Richardson Barr.



    The acquisition further strengthens RBC's top-tier North American

energy practice and provides added value to its clients in the E&P sector

through the combination of RBC's capital markets capabilities and public

company relationships, and RBC Richardson Barr's additional specialized

market intelligence and valuation capability, robust transaction pipeline,

and proprietary ideas and insights in the A&D sector. The deal also helps

enhance RBC's private company relationships and advisory services in the

E&P sector.



    "In acquiring Richardson Barr, we are able to offer our clients 'best

in class' services from a firm that is a well-respected leader in the E&P

sector," said Peter de Vos, RBC Capital Markets' head of U.S. Investment

Banking. "We feel this will be a terrific partnership that will further

enhance our position as one of the leading middle market investment banks

in the United States."



    The transaction is the latest in a series of deals completed by RBC as

it continues to build its presence in the United States and globally. RBC

has announced 11 acquisitions in the U.S. in the past two years, including

acquisitions by RBC Capital Markets of Daniels & Associates, the nation's

most active M&A advisor to the cable, telecom, broadcast and Internet

services industries; Carlin Financial Group, a broker-dealer known for its

proprietary trade execution platform; and Seasongood & Mayer, the number

one ranked public finance firm in Ohio.

    About RBC Capital Markets



    RBC Capital Markets is the corporate and investment banking arm of RBC

and is active globally in debt origination, sales and trading, foreign

exchange, infrastructure finance, structured products, metals and mining,

and energy. Its North American platform includes a significant U.S. middle

market investment banking franchise and leading equity, underwriting,

sales, trading and research businesses. Bloomberg ranks the firm as the

12th largest investment bank globally.



    RBC Capital Markets' Global Energy Group provides advice and raises

capital for the energy and utilities sectors around the world, including

exploration & production, oil field services, pipelines, master limited

partnerships (MLPs), and refining and marketing. The firm provides award

winning energy research that covers more than 200 energy companies around

the world. RBC is one of the most experienced banks in the world in oils

sands financing and is a Nomad on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM).



    About RBC



    Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) and its subsidiaries operate

under the master brand name of RBC. We are Canada's largest bank as

measured by assets and market capitalization and one of North America's

leading diversified financial services companies. We provide personal and

commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, corporate and

investment banking and transaction processing services on a global basis.

Our corporate support team enables business growth with expert professional

advice and state-of-the art processes and technology. We employ

approximately 75,000 full- and part-time employees who serve more than 16

million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients

throughout offices in Canada, the U.S. and 45 other countries around the

world. For more information, please visit http://www.rbc.com.