Jarden has Kiwi Wealth in its sights, but may face private equity competition

Kiwi Wealth is part of the New Zealand government-backed Kiwibank, which, like Australian financials, is offloading non-core operations and focusing on banking.

New Zealand-based investment bank Jarden is believed to be closing in on the $NZ400m Kiwi Wealth, but private equity firms are also thought to remain on the edge of the action.

One of the buyout funds that may be taking a look is Blackstone, which owns Partners Life in New Zealand.

Sources say that the business makes the most sense for Jarden where the opportunity can enable it to broaden its asset management operations, adding benefits to its private client advisers arm.

The sale process got under way earlier this year through investment bank Goldman Sachs.

Kiwi Wealth is part of the New Zealand government-backed Kiwibank, which, like Australian financials, is offloading non-core operations and focusing on banking.

The business reportedly has about $NZ9bn ($8.4bn) of funds under management.

It is owned by the NZ Super Fund and the government-owned ACC and NZ Post and was started as Gareth Morgan Investments, but sold in 2012 to Kiwibank.

Kiwibank sold its insurance business and its online investment platform Hatch last year to FNZ.

Kiwibank has about 4 per cent of New Zealand’s market share in terms of assets and provides some banking services through its PostShops and more recently through financial services-only branches. For the six months to December, Kiwibank reported a 16 per cent increase in its net profit to $NZ64m.

Meanwhile, Jarden remains in close focus by the investment banking community here in Australia where it opened an office in 2019 and launched an investment banking operation soon after.

It has poached talent largely from Swiss rival UBS, including former UBS capital markets banker Robbie Vanderzeil, who is the Australia chief executive, and head of investment banking Aidan Allen, who was the Australian investment banking head at UBS.

Jarden previously had an affiliation agreement with Credit Suisse in Australia where both groups would jointly work on investment banking deals but that was disbanded with its Australia launch.

Some Credit Suisse bankers have now joined Jarden.

Jarden recorded a $5.1m loss in 2021 from $76m revenue, compared with a $12.8m loss from $15m income in 2020 when the firm was hiring most of its prominent bankers.

Jarden has won a number of high-profile banking roles. It is currently advising Mike Cannon-Brookes on AGL Energy, is advising on the float of Fonterra Australia, sold Stockland’s retirement villages and also advised on the ZipCo and Sezzle merger and the Woolworths demerger of Endeavour Group.