KKR, the giant private equity firm, announced today that it will acquire Janney Montgomery Scott fromThe Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company
Philadelphia-based Janney, which began in 1832, is a major wealth management, investment banking and asset management firm. It oversees over $150 billion in assets under administration, with more than 900 financial advisors providing financial planning, asset allocation, retirement planning and other financial advice and services to clients across 135 offices in the U.S.
Janney will remain a stand-alone private company that will continue to operate independently after the transaction is completed, according to a press release.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, the release said. KKR is making its investment in Janney primarily through its North America Fund XIII.
In recent years, KKR has made several investments in the wealth management space. It had invested in two RIA consolidators, Focus Financial, which exited in June 2021, and Beacon Pointe, which still owns a controlling interest.
“We are excited to enter this next chapter in our nearly 200-year history with a new value-added strategic partner. KKR has demonstrated they value our client- and advisor-centric culture and share our deep conviction in the tremendous opportunities ahead for our business,” Tony Miller, president at Janney, said in a prepared statement. “We look forward to working with KKR to invest further in our growth and enable our talented team to further improve the advice and services we offer our clients.”
“Janney’s well-respected brand, client-centric culture and strong track record of growth have established it as a best-in-class business that we believe is well-positioned to benefit from the significant tailwinds driving demand in the U.S. wealth management market,” said Chris Harrington, a partner at KKR, in the release.
“This is a great outcome for both Janney and Penn Mutual,” said Dave O’Malley, chairman, president and CEO at Penn Mutual. “Janney has been a strong investment for Penn Mutual’s general account for the last 40 years. We have been good stewards and are looking forward to watching Janney’s next chapter of growth.”
KKR intends to support Janney in creating a broad-based equity ownership program to provide all of the company’s 2,300 employees the opportunity to participate in the benefits of ownership after the transaction closes, the press release said, adding that this strategy is based on the belief that team member engagement through ownership is a key driver in building stronger companies. Since 2011, more than 50 KKR portfolio companies have awarded billions of dollars of total equity value to over 100,000 non-senior management employees, the release said.