Blucora Inc., a tax-oriented wealth manager and financial technology provider, will acquire HK Financial Services, a CPA-focused registered investment adviser based in Dubuque, Iowa, managing $4.4 billion.
Based in Irving, Texas, Blucora is the parent of the tax-focused broker-dealer Avantax Wealth Management, which formerly operated under the HD Vest and 1st Global brand names, and TaxAct, which it says is the third largest tax-preparation software by market share.
The acquisition is being structured as a stock purchase with a price of $160 million, representing a multiple of approximately 9.3x fully realized synergies on pro-forma 2020 EBITDA of HKFS, Blucora said in a release. As part of the transaction, Blucora expects to issue $165 million of add-on term loan that is fungible with existing debt. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2020.
Insiders say the Wall Street giant is looking to let clients count certain crypto holdings as collateral or, in some cases, assets in their overall net worth.
The two wealth tech firms are bolstering their leadership as they take differing paths towards growth and improved advisor services.
“We think this happened because of Anderson’s age and that he was possibly leaving,” said the advisor’s attorney.
The newly appointed leader will be responsible for overseeing fiduciary governance, regulatory compliance, and risk management at Cetera's trust services company.
Certain foreign banking agreements could force borrowers to absorb Section 899's potential impact, putting some lending relationships at risk.
How intelliflo aims to solve advisors' top tech headaches—without sacrificing the personal touch clients crave
From direct lending to asset-based finance to commercial real estate debt.
