Dec 2, 2020
Macquarie Buys Waddell & Reed to Expand U.S. Asset Management
, Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) -- Macquarie Group Ltd. has agreed to buy Waddell & Reed Financial Inc. for $1.7 billion to expand its U.S. asset management business.
The cash deal values Waddell & Reed shares at $25 a piece, Sydney-based Macquarie said in a statement Thursday, or about a 47% premium to their latest closing price. The deal is expected to close by the middle of 2021.
After the deal is completed, Macquarie will sell Waddell & Reed’s wealth management business, which has about $63 billion in assets under administration, to LPL Financial Holdings Inc. for about $300 million.
That will leave Macquarie with Waddell & Reed’s asset management business, which oversees about $68 billion in assets, primarily in equities. The deal will lift Macquarie Asset Management’s assets to roughly $465 billion.
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