Pollen Street wants to acquire asset manager Mattioli Woods for £432 million

Pollen Street Capital will acquire AIM-listed asset manager Mattioli Woods in an all-cash deal worth £432 million.

The 804p per share offer, which the Mattioli Woods board is recommending back to investors, represents a 34 per cent premium to the group’s closing share price on Thursday.

Pollen Street said it hoped to capitalize on a “significant opportunity in the UK wealth market” through Mattioli’s “distinctive and diversified range of solutions”, which are “underpinned by a highly trusted brand, customer-centric culture and technology-enabled processes”. .

Mattioli Woods Stocks rose 31.7 percent to 790p on Friday afternoon, some 11.2 percent below their December 2021 peak.

If the deal goes through, it will represent a new agreement in a rapidly consolidating asset and wealth management industry due to the growing importance of scale in the industry.

Headquartered in Leicester, Mattioli Woods has grown significantly since listing on AIM in 2005, amassing more than £15 billion in assets under management through organic growth and acquisitions.

The core proposition integrates wealth management and financial planning to serve a market primarily composed of the affluent, controlling directors and owner-managers, professionals, executives, individuals, families and retirees.

Pollen Street Mattioli Woods would benefit from a move to private ownership, which would give the management team “the flexibility to make longer-term decisions to maximize the company’s growth potential.”

The FTSE All-Share-listed private equity firm said it was attracted by Mattioli’s “vertically integrated, holistic model with its high-quality brand and customer base and clear organic and inorganic growth opportunities within its wealth management and employee benefits business.” company’.

It follows a similar deal in 2019 when Pollen Capital bought asset manager Kingswood Holdings.

Lindsey McMurray, managing partner of Pollen Street Capital, added: “Pollen Street Capital has a strong legacy of supporting companies in the financial and business services sectors and we are excited about the opportunity to partner with Mattioli Woods in achieving of our ambitious goals for the company. ‘

The Mattioli Woods board supported the takeover, saying: ‘The realization of the group’s growth strategy would be both slower and more uncertain without significant further capital financing, which at the current share price would be difficult to raise on the public markets without significantly increasing existing shares. dilute. shareholders’.

Boss Ian Mattioli added: Since our admission to AIM in 2005, we have seen significant expansion in both the size and nature of our business, integrating wealth management, financial planning and employee benefits to serve personal and corporate clients across the UK to serve.

‘We have a strong track record of combining like-minded businesses that share the same culture and ethos of putting customers first. The Pollen Street Capital team shares our passion for delivering exceptional client outcomes and has demonstrated an ability to partner with entrepreneurial financial services firms.

“I believe that with the support and access to capital from Pollen Street Capital, we can accelerate the execution of our strategy and provide our clients with the proactive advice and tailored investment solutions they need.”