Perpetual confirms talks with US PE player over wealth sale

Perpetual has confirmed it has entered into an exclusivity agreement to progress discussions with US private equity player Bain Capital regarding the sale of its wealth management division. 

The wealth management division has been in market since an agreement with KKR was terminated in February.

In an ASX statement, the firm stated: “Perpetual confirms that it has entered into an exclusivity deed with Bain Capital Private Equity, LP to further progress discussions around the potential sale of the wealth management business. 

“There is no certainty of reaching a binding agreement, or that any transaction would proceed. Perpetual will keep shareholders updated in accordance with its continuous disclosure obligations.”

This is the second major M&A discussion for Bain Capital this year as it was previously in discussions to acquire Insignia Financial before exiting the process in May after a period of due diligence.

Bain Capital is a US private investment firm specialising in private equity and venture capital, with US$185 billion ($290 billion) in assets under management and offices in Melbourne and Sydney.

The sale process for Perpetual’s wealth management has been ongoing since early 2024 when the firm announced it would be selling the division to a rival US private equity firm KKR. However, these plans were subsequently scrapped in February 2025 due to high tax costs which were found to not be in the best interest of shareholders. 

Since then, Perpetual has maintained a desire to exit the wealth management division and has been engaging with parties regarding an alternative sale.

“We’ve not been able to engage with them during the course of the SID [scheme implementation deed] with KKR but there is significant interest in the business, it’s a high-quality leading business in Australia so we are confident in the interest,” Perpetual chief executive Bernard Reilly said in March.

In its FY25 results, Perpetual said the wealth management arm currently has $21.5 billion in funds under advice, up 9 per cent on FY24, which includes $12.5 billion from high-net-worth (HNW) investors. 

But underlying profit before tax (UPBT) for the wealth management division was impacted by the uncertainty from the sale and increased expenses, falling from $54 million to $51.5 million. Total revenue increased 4 per cent from $226.8 million to $235.6 million, but both market and non-market lines were impacted by the uncertainty over business ownership.