The Chapman Co. said yesterday that it has acquired Charles A. Bell Securities Corp. of San Francisco in an effort to expand its business in California, which is a large issuer of municipal debt.

Bell Securities, which has been involved in California public finance since 1986, will operate as a division of the Baltimore-based brokerage and investment banking firm, the companies said. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Charles Bell, founder of Bell Securities, said in a statement that the "consolidation provides greater resources to compete."

"The capital that the Chapman Co. has raised provides for a new level of opportunities," Bell said.

Nathan A. Chapman Jr., president of Chapman Co., was traveling and could not be reached for comment.

Chapman Co. opened an office in June in San Francisco headed by Vincent McCarley, the firm's director of public finance.

McCarley, who negotiated the acquisition, said in a statement that Bell "has created a foundation and model from which we can build."

Chapman Co. manages more than $600 million for clients. Last week, it said that Aetna Retirement Services Inc. agreed to market Chapman's mutual fund, called the Chapman DEM Equity Fund, to nearly 2 million customers.

The fund invests in small and midsize publicly traded U.S. companies that are controlled by women, African-Americans, Asian-Americans and Latinos.

Chapman shares closed yesterday at $6.3438, up 21.88 cents.

Pub Date: 2/11/99