Envestnet weighs options after seeing takeover interest

The Chicago-based fintech has recently been approached by at least one private equity firm interested in acquiring it, according to people familiar with the matter.

Envestnet Inc., a fintech company whose chief executive died in a car accident 2½ years ago, is exploring options after receiving takeover interest, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Chicago-based company has recently been approached by at least one private equity firm interested in acquiring it, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the matter isn’t public. Although the company is evaluating the interest, no transaction is imminent, one of the people said.

Envestnet rose 8.4% to $71.56 at 1:38 p.m. in New York on Tuesday, giving the company a market value of about $3.9 billion. The stock has fallen 9.5% in the past year.

A representative for Envestnet declined to comment.

Private equity firms have been using their war chests to go shopping for technology-focused financial services firms. Buyout firms like these assets because they generate steady cash and can be used as consolidation platforms. Madison Dearborn Partners agreed this month to buy money-transfer service MoneyGram International Inc. for about $1 billion in cash.

Envestnet offers software and data to to wealth managers, banks and other clients that helps them manage and evaluate investments. More than 106,000 advisers and over 5,100 companies use its technology and services, according to its latest annual report.

The company has been subject to takeover speculation since CEO Judson Bergman and his wife, Mary Miller, died in a San Francisco car accident in 2019.

[More: Why Envestnet is enticing advisers to dive into its massive data lake]