$7 billion is the reported value of the takeover fight for Wealth Enhancement, with Bain Capital and Carlyle competing for the Minnesota-based US wealth manager, the Financial Times said.
Wealth Enhancement manages more than $100 billion in assets and has built its business through acquisitions as well as organic growth, making it a sizable target in North American wealth-management consolidation.
May deals show that expansion strategy still in motion: the firm bought Wisdom Rock Financial Advisory Group, adding more than $500 million in client assets, and also acquired Lake Tahoe Wealth Management, which had $318 million in AUM.
The contest adds to evidence that private equity is driving wealth-sector M&A in North America, extending a trend already highlighted by Carlyle's $2.8 billion MAI Capital Management deal and Bain's Carson Group stake.