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By Christine Gaylican, Opalesque Asia:

The reverse merger of hedge fund Ramius Capital into quoted boutique investment bank Cowen Group; the purchase of Barclays Global Investors by BlackRock Inc., and Crédit Agricole’s recent deal with Société Générale have paved the way for a new dimension in terms of expansion of capabilities among hedge fund and asset management industries.

With regards to Ramius and Cowen, the combined firm will be branded Cowen Group though it will be majority-owned by Ramius and led by Peter Cohen, Ramius’ founder.

According to a recent study from Jefferies Putnam Lovell, these transactions will allow a company to become public in a market unreceptive to new alternative asset management listings and provides the firm with an investment banking platform on which it can offer new services including fixed income sales, trading and origination, as well as real estate banking.

Aaron Dorr, managing director at Jefferies, said that this trend, which had taken up the first half of 2009, would continue for the rest of the year.

“Other notable investment banking transactions include Broadpoint Securities Group’s acquisition of M&A advisory firm Gleacher Partners for approximately $75 million and Raymond James purchase of Lane Berry & Co. International, a middle-market investment bank. Both deals were undertaken to add complimentary business lines and broaden industry-specific banking expertise.”

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