Hargreaves Lansdown pushes deadline for £5.4bn takeover

Hargreaves Lansdown has extended the deadline for a potential £5.4 billion takeover offer by a private equity consortium.

In an update on Friday, the group said it has pushed back the deadline for a deal until August 5 and that negotiations “remain ongoing”.

A consortium led by CVC made a £5.4 billion offer to buy the company last month, which the board said it is ready to recommend to its shareholders.

The group of bidders is led by buyout giant CVC, alongside Nordic Capital, and Platinum Ivy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

It added: “There can be no certainty that a firm offer will be made for Hargreaves Lansdown nor as to the terms on which any such firm offer might be made. A further announcement will be made as and when appropriate.”

It comes as Hargreaves Lansdown recorded a record high of £155.3 billion in assets under administration last quarter, after a jump in new customers before the end of the tax year in April.

The Bristol-based investment group brought in £1.5 billion net new business in the three months to June 30, with net new clients rising 85% year-on-year to 24,000 new sign ups.

London-listed Hargreaves Lansdown said client retention was at 91.1%, slightly down on last year, while asset retention also nudged down just over two percentage points to 87.7% for the quarter.

It said the slight fall “continues to reflect the macroeconomic backdrop for those of our clients who need to make cash withdrawals”.

It also pointed to its growing active savings product, which rose more than one-third year-on-year in assets under administration to £10.6 billion.

Dan Olley, Hargreaves Lansdown’s chief executive, said: “As momentum across the business comes through in our results, we will continue to invest in the value proposition for our clients, delivering client service excellence, improving the client experience and enhancing overall client value over time.

“We operate in a large and growing market, and our purpose, to make it easy to save and invest for a better future has never been more relevant, so we welcome the new Government’s early focus on growth and encouraging more people to engage with their finances.

“Our scale, trusted brand and unique data insights combined with our focus on increasing the pace of strategic execution will deliver sustainable growth for the benefit of all our stakeholders.”