Last week, there was news about a fast-growing Vancouver-based wealth manager getting a “9-figure equity investment” from a large American private equity firm. The deal was done at an apparent valuation that caused many eyebrows on Bay Street to cock. I hate when that happens.
Harbourfront Wealth, a manager of about $6 billion in mostly retail money, announced a financing with Audax. The deal resulted in Harbourfront's parent company reaching $425m in enterprise value, it is claimed. Not bad for a firm founded in 2013. Founder Danny Popescu owned more than 50%, maybe as much as 72% of the firm according to regulatory filings that pre-date this financing.