BY Richard Summerfield
Mubadala Capital has announced it is to take CI Financial private in an $8.66bn, all-cash deal, including debt.
The deal, which is subject to court approval, regulatory clearances and other customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025. The transaction is not subject to any financing conditions.
Under the terms of the deal, Mubadala Capital, the asset management subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi state investment fund, has agreed to pay C$32 a share for CI Financial, representing a 33 percent premium to its closing price last Friday.
“This transaction, with its significant cash premium, represents an exceptional outcome for CI shareholders and provides certainty to shareholders while CI pursues its ongoing transformation,” said William E. Butt, lead director and chair of the special committee at CI. “It also provides significant benefits to Canada, by providing long-term capital to underpin the building of a Canadian champion in the wealth and asset management industries.”
“Mubadala Capital invests with a long-term outlook and represents long-term capital – providing stability and certainty for CIʼs clients and employees,” said Kurt MacAlpine, chief executive of CI. “With this transaction, CI has never been better positioned to fulfil our mission of delivering outstanding services and solutions to our clients.”
“We are fully aligned with the strategy and direction of the firm and look forward to working with the CI management team to continue to build this outstanding business and ensure that CI continues to deliver superior services to its clients,” said Hani Barhoush, managing director and chief executive of Mubadala Capital.
“We look forward to partnering with CI’s talented team to capitalize on new opportunities in the asset and wealth management sectors and build on the company’s successes,” said Oscar Fahlgren, chief investment officer at Mubadala Capital.
The transaction also supports CI’s expansion in the US, where it operates as Corient and will continue to operate independently under the Corient brand.
“We’re excited to continue to execute our US strategy with our incredibly talented team,” said Mr MacAlpine. “Notably, the transaction preserves Corient’s structure and its unique private partnership model, under which 250 of our colleagues are equity partners in Corient. Our partnership model is highly differentiated in our industry – it allows us to deliver the best of the firm to all clients and creates a culture of collaboration and unified purpose.”
The deal assigns the Toronto-based investment manager, which has more than C$500bn in assets and a long history of managing money for wealthy US and Canadian investors, an equity value of C$4.7bn ($3.36bn), or an enterprise value of C$12.1bn when including its debt.
The takeover marks Mubadala Capital’s largest acquisition to date. The firm, which recently raised a $3.1bn private equity fund, will rely on a large equity investment by its parent company to finance a takeover commitment that is larger than its entire fund.
News: Mubadala to take Canada's CI Financial private in about $8.7 billion deal