AFP – A private-equity consortium led by United States (US) group CVC yesterday said it had agreed to buy British investment group Hargreaves Lansdown for GBP5.4 billion (USD6.4 billion), helping drive a “technology-led transformation”.
“HL has an important purpose: to make it easy for people to save and invest for a better future,” the consortium – comprising also Nordic Capital and an arm of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority – said in a statement.
But it added that the British group “requires substantial investment in an extensive technology-led transformation to improve HL’s proposition and resilience, and to drive the next phase of… growth and development”.
The offer is worth GBP11.40 per share, which is 54 per cent higher compared with HL’s closing share price on April 11, the eve of the consortium’s initial approach.
Following yesterday’s announcement, Hargreaves’ stock was up 2.2 per cent at GBP11, having already risen sharply on expectation of an agreed deal.
