Warburg Pincus is reportedly eyeing up taking full control of wealth manager Tilney Smith & Williamson (TSW), sources have told Bloomberg.
It co-owns the business with fellow private equity firm Permira, which bought Tilney in 2014.
The latest rumours come two weeks after it was reported Warburg and Permira were assessing the options for the business 18 months after the merger completed. Among the options on the table were an IPO or a sale.
A spokesperson for TSW declined to comment when contacted by our sister publication Portfolio Adviser.
Structure of the deal prompted regulatory concerns
Plans to merge Tilney with Smith & Williamson nearly fell through after the Financial Conduct Authority expressed concerns about how the deal was structured.
In June 2020, it was revived after Warburg entered the frame and agreed to invest £250m ($340m, €300m) in the combined business alongside Permira.
Smith & Williamson’s largest shareholder, Canadian asset manager AGF, fully exited its investment in the group upon completion of the deal.
In a recent trading update, TSW chief executive Chris Woodhouse said the merger had created a “significant uplift” already.
Over the first nine months of 2021, the wealth manager attracted £1.8bn in net flows, a massive leap from Tilney’s £560m over the same period in 2020. The group generated operating income of £395.4m.
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