Euronext pulls 5.5 billion euro bid for investment platform Allfunds

PAN-EUROPEAN bourse Euronext has withdrawn an indicative 5.5 billion euro (S$7.9 billion) offer for investment platform Allfunds Group, after both sides were unable to agree on the terms of a takeover.

Allfunds said in a statement on Wednesday (Mar 1) that its board considered the Euronext proposal to be inadequate. The company added that subsequent discussions on terms with Euronext failed to produce an agreement, and that the talks have been terminated. Euronext also confirmed its decision to pull the offer.

Earlier, the stock market operator had been in discussions with private equity firm Hellman & Friedman and French bank BNP Paribas, who own a combined 46.4 per cent stake in Allfunds, to obtain their support. Bloomberg previously reported that other suitors including rival stock-exchange groups had also looked at the asset and could still emerge as competing bidders.

Under chief executive Stephane Boujnah, a former banker and prolific dealmaker, Paris-based Euronext has expanded across Europe via acquisitions. Exchanges have been seeking to diversify beyond traditional equity trading and to generate more revenue from businesses that are less correlated to market volatility. Some, for instance, have branched into areas such as data and new financial technologies in recent years.

Allfunds, which offers investors access to a range of investment products in a single platform, was acquired by Hellman & Friedman in 2017 and grew through a series of deals, including a purchase of Credit Suisse Group’s InvestLab platform. It previously attracted takeover interest from German exchange group Deutsche Boerse, Bloomberg News reported. Its private-equity owners eventually opted to list Allfunds in 2021 and retain an interest. BLOOMBERG