Finland-based Aktia Bank to buy Taaleri's wealth management ops for €120M

Finland-based Aktia Pankki Oyj agreed to acquire the wealth management business of local peer Taaleri Oyj for an enterprise value of €120 million, on a cash and debt-free basis.

Of the amount, up to €10 million may be paid with Aktia Bank shares, while the rest will be paid in cash at the close of the transaction. The deal involves Aktia buying 100% of Taaleri Wealth Management Ltd. and Taaleri Fund Management Ltd., as well as digital asset management solutions provider Evervest Ltd. and Taaleri Tax Services Ltd.

Aktia said March 10 that the transaction will bolster its own funds so that its capital adequacy remains solid. Under the deal, about €4.4 billion in AUM will be transferred to Aktia, boosting its AUM to €14.8 billion from €10.4 billion as of the end of 2020.

The deal is also expected to lead to annual synergy gains of roughly €8 million, to be realized in full in 2023. About 100 Taaleri employees will move to Aktia, while five people covering Aktia's real estate and infrastructure business will move to Taaleri.

Meanwhile, Taaleri said its operations would only be made up of its private equity fund business and its Garantia Insurance Co. unit following the deal. The company will announce a revised business strategy later in March.

As part of the deal, Taaleri will also acquire the business operations for the portfolio management of Aktia's special investment fund investing in real estate and the Aktia Infra I Ky fund. Taaleri will also become the portfolio manager for Aktia's special investment funds investing in real estate.

Additionally, the deal includes a cooperation agreement in which Aktia will become the distributor of Taaleri's alternative investment products in Finland.

The deal is pending regulatory approvals and is expected to complete in May.

Taaleri noted that it will seek to release capital to shareholders, with an additional dividend distribution following deal completion.