Hargreaves Lansdown has declined a takeover bid from a private equity backed consortium which included the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund.
The consortium made up of CVC Advisers, Nordic Capital and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority subsidiary Platinum Ivy approached Hargreaves Lansdown with a possible offer of £9.85 per share on April 26.
This offer values the Bristol-based company at £4.67bn which was a 30 per cent premium on its closing price yesterday of £7.55.
But according to a statement released yesterday evening (May 22) by Hargreaves Lansdown, the board rejected this offer.
Hargreaves Lansdown's share price has jumped 14 per cent this morning after the news was made public.
The FTSE 250 company said there was no certainty whether any firm offer would be made.
The consortium now has until June 19 to either announce a firm intention to make an offer for the provider or not.
As previously reported by FT Adviser, Hargreaves Lansdown is facing a number of challenges.
Among them were regulatory issues, an ageing client base, challenges from newer incumbents and changing technology, and the prevailing economic conditions. The company dropped out of the FTSE 100 towards the end of last year.
The provider's most recent results revealed declining growth in new money coming on to the platform and power profitability with the share price falling 8 per cent on the day as a consequence.
alina.khan@ft.com
