Focus Financial to be acquired by Clayton Dubilier in $7 billion deal

Focus Financial Partners Inc., an aggregator of registered investment advisors, agreed to be acquired by affiliates of Clayton Dubilier & Rice in an all-cash transaction with an enterprise value of more than $7 billion.

Shareholders in New York-based Focus will receive $53 in cash per share, representing a premium of about 36% to the firm’s 60-day average price as of Feb. 1, the day before a potential transaction was announced, the company said in a statement Monday. Funds managed by Stone Point Capital agreed to retain a portion of its investment in Focus and provide new equity financing as part of the deal.

CD&R and Stone Point said they agreed to the deal because of Focus’s competitive positioning in a multitrillion-dollar global industry. Focus, which has almost 90 firms in its partnership, acquires high-performing wealth management firms that primarily serve high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients, and has a visible presence in the sector globally through its international partner firms, CD&R and Stone Point said.

“We are enthusiastic about the opportunity to partner with Focus to help grow and develop its exceptional partner firm network,” Dan Glaser, a CD&R partner, said in the statement.

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter, and Focus will cease to be a publicly traded company when the takeover is completed. The agreement provides for a 40-day “go-shop” period that expires April 8. A special committee of Focus’s board unanimously determined that the transaction is in the best interests of the company and shareholders, according to the statement.