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Bridget Carter

Suitors cooling on Insignia

Bridget Carter
The share value of Insignia Financial has noticeably retreated.
The share value of Insignia Financial has noticeably retreated.
The Australian Business Network

Speculation is mounting that at least one of Insignia Financial’s suitors is losing interest, after the company’s share price fell almost 6 per cent last week.

After three parties bid $4.60 per share for the listed wealth manager, or $3.1bn overall, subject to due diligence, the stock was initially trading around $4.66.

But the shares closed on Friday at $4.25.

CC Capital may be losing interest, sources say, and some wonder how serious Brookfield is in pursuing Insignia.

That leaves Bain Capital, which was the first player to reveal its interest in the company.

Some observers believe there is a strong chance that Bain will revise the price lower after taking a closer look at Insignia’s books.

Among Insignia’s shareholders is John Wylie’s Tanarra Capital, who holds about 14 per cent.

Bain Capital, which is being aided by former Insignia boss Renato Mota, is advised by Bank of America, CC Capital, Deutsche Bank and Brookfield, Jarden.

Insignia is advised by Citi and Gresham.

Insignia Financial’s boss, Scott Hartley, previously worked for the private equity firm CC Capital, which was once interested in ­buying the MLC business from NAB.

Insignia instead bought MLC for $1.4bn in 2020.

Bridget Carter
Bridget CarterDataRoom Editor

Bridget Carter has worked as a writer and editor for The Australian’s DataRoom column since it was launched in 2013, focusing on capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and investment banking. She has been a journalist for more than 18 years, covering a broad range of events and topics, including high profile court cases and crimes, natural disasters, social issues and company news.

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/dataroom/suitors-cooling-on-insignia/news-story/1572613c42291ee88fc86e9e6729b292