Audax to buy CI’s minority stake in Congress Wealth Management

• CI Financial first invested in Congress Wealth Management in 2020
• It received a return of about three times its initial investment and will use the proceeds to pay down debt
• Audax Private Equity is focused on making control investments in mid-market companies

CI Financial Corp has agreed to sell its minority stake in Congress Wealth Management, a Boston-based investment management firm, to Audax Private Equity.

No financial terms were disclosed. The deal is expected to close in May 2023.

CI, a Toronto-based asset and wealth management company, first invested in Congress in 2020. It received a return of about three times its initial investment and will use the proceeds to pay down debt.

Congress, led by president Paul Lonergan, serves clients across the US.

“Congress is a great firm and our partnership with Paul and his team has been fantastic,” said Kurt MacAlpine, CI CEO, in a statement. “However, CI’s investment in Congress was made almost three years ago, prior to the establishment of the CI Private Wealth differentiated private partnership model. To fully benefit from its features, only active contributors to the business can be CIPW Partners. Unfortunately, the ownership structure at Congress precludes it from fully integrating into CIPW. CI and Congress believe that minority ownership is not the best structure to maximize the client and employee experience, and that Audax will be an excellent partner to support the next chapter of growth for Congress.”

Audax Private Equity is an affiliate of Boston-based Audax Group. It focuses on making control investments in mid-market companies operating in business services, consumer, financial services, healthcare, industrial services and technologies, and software and technology.