Thoma Bravo, THL bid for Fiserv wealth platform

Fiserv’s sale of its wealth platform has progressed to the final rounds, but the winner is still unclear, sources said.

Thoma Bravo and Thomas H. Lee Partners were making a run for the unit, two people said. One GP mentioned Broadridge as possibly involved. “Thoma and THL are no longer in the process,” said a third source, who added that Broadridge “wasn’t playing.”

The process recently went dark, meaning the seller was no longer speaking to parties that aren’t involved, the second GP said.

Fiserv put the United Wealth platform up for sale in the late summer, Buyouts reported. The platform provides technology and services, including financial advice management, portfolio management and billing services, for retail brokers, a person said. The Fiserv wealth unit produces $70 million to $80 million Ebitda, Buyouts said. Citi is advising on the process.

The sale comes as Fiserv completed its $22 billion acquisition of First Data, a payments company backed by KKR, in July. With the acquisition, Fiserv is expected to sell off divisions, sources said. Fiserv, of Brookfield, Wisconsin, provides financial services technology to clients including banks, thrifts and credit units.

Thoma Bravo invests in software and technology companies. The firm is considering raising $15 billion for a new fund early next year, Bloomberg reported in October. Thoma Bravo is investing out of its latest flagship, which closed on $12.6 billion in January, Reuters reported.

THL, one of private equity’s oldest firms, has been investing in companies since 1974. THL raised $3.59 billion for its eighth fund, Private Equity News reported in October 2018.

Broadridge, which was spun off from ADP in 2007, is a fintech investor. The company on Nov. 4 acquired Fi360. In June, Northern Trust agreed to transfer its distributed ledger technology platform for PE to Broadridge.

Fiserv, Thoma Bravo, THL, Broadridge and Citi could not be reached for comment.

Action Item: See Thoma Bravo’s latest form ADV here.