Bain Capital to Acquire Perpetual’s Wealth Business
Bain Capital agreed to acquire the wealth management business of Australia-based Perpetual Limited for AUD 500M in upfront cash, with additional performance-linked payments that could bring total consideration higher. The transaction includes licensing rights to the Perpetual Wealth and Perpetual Private brands for 15 years and is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to regulatory approvals.
Deal activity also included continued RIA consolidation. New York-based Maridea Wealth Management acquired tax-focused advisory firm Chichester Financial Group, expanding its footprint in Phoenix to two offices and adding founder John Chichester Jr. and two advisors. Elsewhere, digital asset wealth platform Abra Financial agreed to go public through a SPAC merger that values the firm at $750M pre-money and could deliver up to $300M of cash in trust, subject to redemptions. The firm, which serves institutional, fund, and RIA clients, is targeting more than $10 billion in AUM by 2027.
Distribution and leadership moves were also active. Blackstone appointed Rashmi Madan as global head of portfolio solutions for private wealth and named Simona Maellare head of EMEA private wealth as the firm expands its individual investor platform, and Balentine promoted Benjamin Webb to lead private markets strategy.
At the advisor level, Steward Partners added the Scharf & Selden Wealth Management team from Raymond James in Westport, CT, and Palisade Asset Management hired Ryan Woitalla as portfolio manager.
In Miami, industry veterans James Dean and Darren Graff are launching Guardant Wealth Advisors, a new RIA with Schwab as custodian.