Madison Dearborn Partners LLC, a private equity investment firm, will acquire National Financial Partners Corp. (NFP) in a deal worth about $1.3 billion, NFP announced today.
Shareholders for NFP, a provider of benefits, insurance and wealth management services, will receive $25.35 in cash for each share of NFP common stock they own. This s a 26-percent premium over NFP’s closing share price of $20.05 on March 12, the last day of trading prior to reports that NFP was considering the possible sale of the company.
The deal has been unanimously approved by the full board of directors of NFP. Douglas W. Hammond, president and chief operating officer of NFP, will be appointed CEO when Jessica M. Bibliowicz steps down from the position in May. Bibliowicz , the daugher of former Citigroup chief Sandy Weill, stepped down as president of NFP a year ago. She is now chairman and CEO.
Madison Dearborn has obtained financing commitments for the deal from Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Morgan Stanley Senior Funding Inc., and UBS Securities LLC.
“This agreement provides significant opportunities for our clients and employees by partnering with an extremely well-respected firm with proven expertise in the financial services sector,” says Bibliowicz. “NFP has a solid foundation and we are confident the company will thrive as a private enterprise in this next chapter of its evolution.”
Madison Dearborn, based in Chicago, has raised six funds with aggregate capital of more than $18 billion and has completed about 125 investments. Madison Dearborn invests in businesses across a broad spectrum of industries.
NFP and its benefits, insurance and wealth management businesses provide diversified advisory and brokerage services to companies and high-net-worth individuals.