Blackstone Group Inc.’s Alight Solutions has agreed to go public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company backed by investor Bill Foley.
The deal by Foley Trasimene Acquisition Corp would value Alight, a benefits administrator business, at about $7.3 billion including debt, the companies said in a statement Monday.
Based in Lincolnshire, Illinois, Alight provides human-resource support services such as payroll, health benefits and employee communications for large companies in 188 countries, according to its website. The company was a division of Aon until Blackstone bought it in 2017 in a transaction valued as much as $4.8 billion. Since then, Alight has acquired several other human resources and technology companies.
In 2019, Blackstone postponed its plans for Alight to raise as much as $800 million in an initial public offering just before final pricing due to market conditions, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News then.
Foley, 76, is a veteran investor who’s helped build and lead companies including Fidelity National Financial Inc., the largest U.S. title insurance firm. In December, another blank-check firm of his reached a $9 billion deal to take Paysafe Group Ltd., the online payments firm backed by Blackstone and CVC Capital Partners, public.
The board of Alight will be made up of of eight directors, including three appointed by Foley, three by Blackstone, Alight Chief Executive Stephan Scholl and one independent director.
A new proposal could end the ban on promoting client reviews in states like California and Connecticut, giving state-registered advisors a level playing field with their SEC-registered peers.
Morningstar research data show improved retirement trajectories for self-directors and allocators placed in managed accounts.
Some in the industry say that more UBS financial advisors this year will be heading for the exits.
The Wall Street giant has blasted data middlemen as digital freeloaders, but tech firms and consumer advocates are pushing back.
Research reveals a 4% year-on-year increase in expenses that one in five Americans, including one-quarter of Gen Xers, say they have not planned for.
Orion's Tom Wilson on delivering coordinated, high-touch service in a world where returns alone no longer set you apart.
Barely a decade old, registered index-linked annuities have quickly surged in popularity, thanks to their unique blend of protection and growth potential—an appealing option for investors looking to chart a steadier course through today's choppy market waters, says Myles Lambert, Brighthouse Financial.
