New York-listed Kingswood Acquisition Corp is reportedly looking to merge with wealth solutions provider Lombard International.
According to Sky News, the special purpose acquisition company (Spac) is among a number of bidders for Lombard International including Apollo Global Management.
A Spac is a corporation formed for the sole purpose of raising investment capital through an initial public offering (IPO). When the Spac raises the required funds through an IPO, the money is held in a trust until the desired acquisition is made.
This news comes weeks after International Adviser reported that Lombard International’s parent company Blackstone was looking to sell the business.
Details
Kingswood Acquisition is sponsored by the major shareholders in UK wealth firm Kingswood Group. These include private holding company KPI, which has a 67% stake in Kingswood Group, and also private equity firm Pollen Street Capital, which has previously invested in the wealth manager.
Management of the Spac also include Kingswood Group chief executive Gary Wilder and Kingswood US president Michael Nessim.
If successful, Kingswood’s merger with Lombard would be among the first examples of a UK-based financial services business listing in the US via a Spac.
The sale could reach around €700m (£604m, $843m).
IA contacted Lombard International, Kingswood, Blackstone and Apollo Global Management for a comment. Kingswood and Lombard International declined to comment, while the other firms did not reply in time for publication.
