Nucleus has neared the completion of its acquisition of the Curtis Banks Group after the competition watchdog concluded there were no grounds for an investigation.
The FCA, Prudential Regulation Authority, and Solicitors Regulation Authority have all issued their approvals, and the Competition and Markets Authority has concluded the transaction does not qualify for investigation under UK merger control law.
The CMA launched an inquiry into the merger in July to understand whether the merger could reduce the amount of competition.
FTAdviser understands Nucleus referred the deal to the CMA itself because it is often better for companies to involve the CMA earlier and have regulatory approvals running concurrently.
The deal is now expected to be completed in the coming weeks.
Nucleus said the deal will create a retirement-focused adviser platform with approximately £80bn of assets under administration, helping nearly 5,000 advisers make retirement more rewarding for almost 250,000 customers.
The combination of Curtis Banks’ Sipp and Ssas product offering, along with Nucleus’ reputation in the UK platform market, will create a comprehensive proposition to support financial advisers and their customers.
Richard Rowney, chief executive officer of Nucleus, said: “We are pleased to have now received regulatory approval, and look forward to completing this transformational deal in the coming weeks.
“We’ll then start working closely with our new colleagues at Curtis Banks to bring together our businesses and provide a best-in-class service to the advisers we serve.”
Rowney said Curtis Banks would be an important part of the group and help its purpose of helping make retirement more rewarding.
He said that in a market where scale is increasingly important, this deal would enable further investments in technology, people, products, price and service for the benefit of advisers and their customers.
For the immediate future, both businesses will continue to operate independently and there will be no immediate change for advisers or clients of either business.
Peter Docherty, interim chief executive of Curtis Banks, will continue to lead the Curtis Banks business.
He will report to Rowney and it is expected that in time, Curtis Banks will be rebranded as Nucleus.
Docherty said: “Receiving regulatory approval is a key milestone in the acquisition process.
“Once the transaction completes we can start to bring our businesses together in a considered, mindful and practical way, ensuring we have the best combination of technologies, operations and structure that can deliver the group’s strategy.”
The company confirmed the £242mn cash deal in January, after extending deal talks the previous month.
The two companies have now agreed on a price which was a 32.1 per cent premium on Curtis Bank's share price value at the end of November, when the offer period began.
Nucleus purchased Curtis Banks through a new, wholly-owned subsidiary called Nucleus Clyde Acquisition Limited, shortened to 'Bidco', which was incorporated at the end of last year.
The acquisition was approved by Curtis Banks shareholders in February and remains subject to a court sanction hearing.
