Minneapolis-based Piper Jaffray Companies announced Tuesday that its private capital business will transition into an independent, private firm, which will be rebranded as North Sky Capital.

The company said that it expects the transition to be complete by December 1. The private capital business is a “fund of funds,” meaning that it raises outside money for a fund and, in turn, invests that money in other funds.

North Sky Capital-which will be led by Piper Jaffray Managing Director Scott Barrington, who is leaving Piper Jaffray altogether to focus on the new venture-will manage the funds raised by Piper Jaffray Private Capital.

“The move should be seamless to investors as they will continue to work with the same team of professionals,” the company said in a press release.

Jennifer Olson-Goude, spokeswoman for Piper Jaffray, said that the North Sky Capital employees will remain in Minneapolis, and the transition will not result in any additional hiring at Piper Jaffray.

“There will be no impact on Piper Jaffray from a revenue or earnings perspective,” she added.

Piper Jaffray, which was founded in 1895, is an international investment bank and institutional securities firm that serves corporations, private equity groups, public entities, nonprofits, and institutional investors. It is among Minnesota's 60-largest public companies based on 2008 revenue, which totaled $326.4 million. The company reported $468.8 million in 2009 revenue.