By Scott Murdoch and Roushni Nair
(Reuters) -Shares of Insignia Financial closed 12.2% higher on Tuesday after the Australian company agreed to a A$3.3 billion ($2.15 billion) takeover by investment manager CC Capital Partners, ending an almost eight-month pursuit.
The agreed A$4.80 per-share price is below the A$5 bid CC Capital raised in March to match a rival offer from U.S.-based Bain Capital.
Shares of Insignia, the third-largest player in Australia’s superannuation sector, closed at A$4.41, with the gains outpacing the 0.1% rise in Australia’s S&P/ASX200 index.
The New York-based CC Capital said on Tuesday One Investment Management, a global alternative investment fund, would be a co-equity investor in its bid for Insignia. CC Capital did not outline the size of OneIM’s contribution to the deal.
Bain Capital withdrew its A$3.34 billion offer in May, leaving CC Capital as the sole bidder. The lower price followed CC Capital’s completion of due diligence on the Australian firm.
Insignia said on Tuesday it had received eight bids from Bain, CC Capital and Brookfield Capital Partners since last December.
The Australian company’s board supported the lower offer and recommended investors vote in favour of the deal, which will require 75% support from shareholders to proceed.
Foreign companies are competing to gain access to Australia’s wealth management and retirement savings industry.
Insignia, which also provides financial planning and investment management services, said funds under administration climbed by A$8.5 billion, or 2.6%, to A$330.3 billion in the quarter ended June 30.
Both Bain Capital and CC Capital Partners were granted an additional four weeks in April to finalise their bids after requesting extended exclusivity periods to complete debt funding and due diligence.
Insigna said it expected the deal to be finalised in the first half of 2026, pending approval from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), competition and banking regulators.
($1 = 1.5337 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney and Roushni Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
