Perpetual agreed on 16 March to sell its Wealth Management business to Bain Capital Private Equity for A$500m in upfront cash, plus potential further payments, after an exclusive negotiation that began in November 2025.
Why Bain Capital Private Equity is buying Perpetual Wealth Management
Perpetual chief executive Bernard Reilly called the deal a pivotal step in simplifying and transforming the company, leaving it focused on asset management and corporate trust with a stronger balance sheet. Perpetual expects pro forma net debt to EBITDA of about 0.2 times after completion.
Deal terms and financing
Bain buys the shares of the wealth group's head company on a cash- and debt-free basis. Besides the A$500m, Perpetual may receive an extra upfront payment based on the advice business's pre-completion performance and an earn-out of up to A$50m tied to the accounting and wealth operations. The business advises on about A$20bn-22bn of client assets.
Regulatory approvals and timing
Completion requires FIRB and ACCC approval for Bain and Perpetual's internal restructuring to separate the business. In its August 2026 results Perpetual said Bain had received ACCC approval, ASIC licence variations had been obtained and the sale remained on track for the fourth quarter of 2026.
Market context
From July 2026 EQT made a series of takeover proposals for the rest of Perpetual, starting at A$21.64 a share and submitting a fourth, improved proposal in September; its earlier bids were each explicitly conditional on the wealth sale to Bain completing.
