PE driving wealth M&A – Financial Newswire | Australian Markets

Private equity has turn out to be the growth driver for the Australian wealth management sector with PE entities proving pivotal in more than 60% of the sector’s most up-to-date vital transactions.

This week’s news that WT Financial Group has entered into a three way partnership association with PE participant Merchant Wealth Partners coincided with affirmation that domestically based mostly PE firm, Adamentam Capital, had accomplished its acquisition of Mason Stevens.

That, in flip, comes in opposition to the background of the competing personal equity bids for Insignia Financial and the news that Oaktree Capital Management has taken a vital stake in Paul Barratt’s AZ Next Generation Advisory.

Then, too, Australian-based Pemba financed the acquisition of self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) business, Super Concepts, from AMP Limited, whereas large PE Player, KKR acquired the Commonwealth Bank’s 55% stake in Colonial First State (CFS) in 2021 and has largely underwritten the firm’s experience back into the aggressive platforms market.

KKR has additionally been entrance and centre in searching for to accumulate Perpetual’s company trust and wealth management business in a deal which has stalled however might but regather momentum.

The purpose for the PE curiosity in Australian wealth property is easy with the latest UBS Global Wealth Report explaining that Australia has the fifth largest average wealth globally, putting it forward of each the United Kingdom and Singapore.

And, in phrases of easy market pragmatics, most of Australia’s publicly-listed wealth management firms have, till to just lately, been thought to be comparatively underneath-valued.

Significantly, the competing bids for Insignia Financial from Bain Capital and CC Capital has seen the company’s share price transfer from $3.51 initially of January to peak at $4.67 in early March with each Bain and CC having independently submitted bids at a price of $5 money per share.

Both Bain and CC Capital stay in due diligence that’s anticipated to be accomplished later this month.

The backside line, nonetheless, is that personal equity has been the dominant issue within the wealth management mergers and acquisitions space and is prone to stay so.