Canaccord Genuity Group’s senior management team has launched a C$1.1bn (£700m) buyout for the Canadian financial services firm.
The takeover group, headed by CEO and president Daniel Daviau, includes chair David Kassie and all members of the firm’s global operating committee.
Collectively, the group owns 21.3% of the firm’s common shares. They are offering C$11.25 (£6.90) per share, which represents a 30.7% premium to the closing share price on 6 January.
If the buyout succeeds, the group plans to take the firm private.
Canaccord’s largest shareholder, which owns 10.7% of shares, is said to be “supportive of the proposed offer”.
Daviau said: “The geographically diverse business has proven to provide excellent advantages for the company’s clients, but the common shares, which naturally reflect the inherent volatility of the global capital markets in which the company operates, have proven to be not well-suited for trading in a public marketplace.
“After the completion of the proposed offer, as an employee-owned business, the company will be able to focus its efforts solely on advancing its proven strategies in ways that serve the best interests of its clients, while continuing to support a vibrant marketplace for issuers in need of capital, entrepreneurs bringing new companies and ideas to market and investors in our wealth management and capital markets businesses.”
Daviau met with the firm’s largest shareholder in June 2022, who expressed concerns that public markets were undervaluing the company.
The group said they do not expect the underlying corporate structure, management or operations of the company to materially change.
The firm’s assets under management in the UK stand at over £30bn after a succession of recent M&A deals. In August 2022, the firm acquired London-based advisory business Results International.
See also: Canaccord Genuity adds £5bn to UK arm as it snaps up Punter Southall Wealth
