Quilter completes the disposal of Buxton’s OMGI for £583m

JOHANNESBURG – Quilter plc, the group formerly known as Old Mutual Wealth, on Friday announced that it had completed the disposal of Richard Buxton’s single-strategy Old Mutual Global Investors (OMGI) business to the funds managed by TA Associates for £583million (R10.55billion).

The group said the total consideration following agreement with TA Associates on the quantum of all pre-completion price adjustments would comprise an upfront cash consideration of £576m and an additional £7m of deferred consideration.

“The deferred consideration will be fully received by 2021 at the latest as surplus capital associated with the separation from Quilter plc is released in the business. This deferred consideration is not subject to performance conditions,” the group said.

Quilter listed on the JSE last week amid fanfare, with investors snapping up its shares to lift its market capitalisation to R50.98bn as the breakup of Old Mutual plc drew closer.

The group also listed on the London Stock Exchange, with £112bn in assets under management and £3bn in market capitalisation.

The TA Associates transaction was first announced in December, with the economic ownership of the single strategy business passed in January.

“Quilter plc is making good progress on separating its retained multi-asset business from the single-strategy business sold as part of the OMGI transaction and continues to expect to incur aggregate costs of approximately £20m in respect of the establishment of the standalone multi-asset business.

“As expected when the transaction was announced in December 2017, Quilter plc and the single-strategy business will continue, for a period of up to three years, to provide commercial services to each other under formal transitional service agreements,” the group noted.

Quilter plc is a leading wealth management business in the UK and internationally, and it oversaw £111.6bn in customer investments as at the end of March.

Surplus sale

Quilter said it would also consider a special distribution by the company to shareholders from the surplus sale proceeds from the OMGI transaction, having taken into account the repayment in full of the £300m senior unsecured term loan, the costs associated with undertaking and completing the OMGI transaction and the costs associated with the establishment of the multi-asset business. The group said the repayment would be made as soon as practical.

Quilter shares were down by 1.93percent on the JSE on Friday, closing at R26.38.

– BUSINESS REPORT