Private equity firm Bain Capital has made a non-binding, all-cash offer to acquire Australian wealth manager Insignia Financial that values the 178-year-old company at AUD2.67bn ($1.70bn), according to a report by Reuters.
Under the terms of the proposal, Insignia shareholders would receive AUD4.00 per share, representing a 17.6% premium over Thursday’s closing price of AUD3.40. Following the announcement, Insignia’s shares surged by as much as 9.6% to AUD3.725 in early trading, their highest level since January 2023. The stock was one of the top performers on the benchmark (.AXJO) index, which was down 0.6%.
Founded in 1846, Insignia offers financial advisory and asset management services, with AUD319.6bn in funds under management and administration as of September. The company’s board is currently evaluating Bain’s proposal to determine whether to engage further with the private equity firm.
The offer comes amid heightened interest in Australian investment managers. Earlier this year, Bain rival KKR (KKR.N) acquired Insignia’s peer Perpetual’s (PPT.AX) wealth management and corporate trust businesses for AUD2.18bn. Additionally, Platinum Asset Management (PTM.AX) received a AUD616.5m bid from Regal Partners (RPL.AX) in September, though the deal ultimately collapsed.
