Law firm acquires financial advice business

Law firm ILH Group has announced it will expand into the wealth management space by acquiring Capricorn Investment Partners.

Capricorn Investments Partners is a corporate advisory and wealth management firm which employs 11 advisers across Queensland, NSW and Victoria and has $447 million in funds under advice.

In acquiring Capricorn, ILH will also buy The Pentad Group, a financial planning business located in Camberwell, Victoria.

Managing director and head of financial planning at Capricorn, David French, said the firm was very pleased to team up with a law firm.

He said most of the firm's business came from the self-managed super fund space which required a lot of attention from lawyers with regards to compliance. Having a legal team down the hall made much more sense than being acquired by an accounting firm.

ILH Group said Capricorn would have annual revenues of more than $5.8 million and provide the law firm with an "additional platform for further growth and development, and access to new industries and clients in the Australasian market".

"The directors consider the acquisition offers significant opportunities for client-cross pollination and synergies generally with ILH member firms," ILH Group said in an announcement published on the Australian Securities Exchange.

The law firm had proposed to acquire 100 per cent of the shares in Capricorn and the business and assets of The Pentad Group for an initial consideration of $9.25 million, subject to approval of the issue of shares at an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders.

The initial consideration will be satisfied by the proposed issue of 52.7 million ILH shares at 9 cents per share and the payment of $4.51 million in cash, ILH Group announced.