Insignia Financial supports new $4.80 takeover offer by CC Capital
The board of Insignia Financial has unanimously backed the offer by CC Capital to acquire all of the issued shares in Insignia Financial for $4.80 per share.
The bid is a 56.9 per cent premium compared to Insignia Financial’s closing share price of $3.06 on 11 December 2024, the last trading day before a non-binding indicative proposal from Bain Capital set off a bidding war.
Yet, it is lower than the $5 that CC Capital was planning to offer in March this year.
Insignia Financial has entered into a Scheme Implementation Deed under which CC Capital has agreed to acquire all of the issued shares in Insignia Financial pursuant to a scheme of arrangement.
This offer recognises the underlying value of the Insignia Financial business, our associated brands including MLC, and our vision to become Australia's leading and most efficient wealth management company by 2030 – Scott Hartley, CEO
If Insignia Financial shareholders approve the scheme of arrangement, then the company expects that it will be implemented in the first half of calendar year 2026.
“This offer recognises the underlying value of the Insignia Financial business, our associated brands including MLC, and our vision to become Australia’s leading and most efficient wealth management company by 2030,” Scott Hartley, Chief Executive Officer of Insignia Financial, said.
“We are and will continue to be focused on executing against our strategy and delivering for our customers and shareholders,” he said.
Latest Offer Follows Bidding War
If the takeover meets all the conditions and receives regulatory approval, then the transaction marks the end of a prolonged bidding war for Insignia Financial.
The financial services company received no less than eight bids from CC Capital, Bain Capital Private Equity, LP and Brookfield Capital Partners.
In March, CC Capital indicated it would offer to buy all of Insignia’s outstanding shares for $5 a share, an offer that Insignia’s board said was ‘attractive’ to shareholders.
However, the company said at the time there was no certainty that the ongoing discussions will result in any transaction being put to Insignia Financial shareholders for their consideration.
The decision to recommend this offer follows extensive work by the board and its advisers to understand the medium-to-long term value of the company, with the board concluding that the offer should be put to shareholders for their consideration – Allan Griffiths, Chairman
Last year, Bain Capital Private Equity launched a bid of $4 a share, an offer which Insignia rejected. In March, Bain indicated it was planning to match the CC Capital offer of $5 a share, but pulled out of the race two months later, citing ‘macro uncertainty caused by the volatility in global capital markets’.
Today, the directors of Insignia Financial explained they supported the $4.80 bid as it still offered a significant premium to the share price before the bidding war started, while taking into account ‘the recent and potential impact of market volatility on global capital markets’.
“The decision to recommend this offer follows extensive work by the board and its advisers to understand the medium-to-long term value of the company, with the board concluding that the offer should be put to shareholders for their consideration,” Allan Griffiths, Chairman of Insignia Financial, said.
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