Hargreaves Lansdown has formally agreed to a takeover deal by a consortium of private equity firms which values the wealth management platform at £5.4bn.

The offer tabled by CVC Capital Partners, Nordic Capital and Platinum Ivy has priced Hargreaves Lansdown at £11.40 per share and will still need shareholder approval.

Hargreaves Lansdown was first approached in April over a potential deal which initially valued the company at £9.85 per share. This offer was rejected by the Hargreaves Lansdown board on the basis that it “substantially undervalued” the company.

The cash offer that has now been agreed is at a 54.1% premium to Hargreaves Lansdown’s share price on 11 April, when the consortium first approached the investment platform’s board.

Chair of Hargreaves Lansdown, Alison Platt, said: “The independent Hargreaves Lansdown board believes that the cash offer represents an attractive opportunity for Hargreaves Lansdown shareholders to realise an immediate and certain cash value for their investment at a level which may not be achievable until the execution of the strategy is delivered over the medium to longer term, and therefore intends to unanimously recommend Hargreaves Lansdown shareholders vote to approve it.

“We are pleased to see that the consortium is aligned that Hargreaves Lansdown has an important purpose making it easy for the UK consumer to save and invest for a better future.”

The consortium has suggested that Hargreaves Lansdown can benefit from “numerous tailwinds” over the coming decade”.

These include an increased individual responsibility for savings, pension freedom, an ageing population, further digitalisation of the wealth process, as well as AI-led activities.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, managing partner at CVC Private Equity Group, Pev Hooper, partner at Nordic Capital Advisors, Emil Anderson, and executive director of the Private Equities Department at ADIA, Hamad Shahwan Aldhaheri, suggested that the consortium brings “extensive experience in supporting businesses undergoing transformation”.

This statement went on to say: “We look forward to partnering with Hargreaves Lansdown’s management to accelerate its transformation plan – including investment in technology infrastructure, digital channels, and service enhancement – all with client value, service, speed of innovation, and Hargreaves Lansdown’s clear purpose at the core.”

Hargreaves Lansdown said it currently expects the acquisition to complete during the first quarter of 2025.

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