LGT acquires Australian wealth manager

LGT is planning to acquire 100 percent of Australian wealth management firm Crestone. As the Liechtenstein private bank reported, the companies have entered into a conditional agreement. The offer values Crestone at AUD 475 million (296 million Swiss francs).

The intended transaction means LGT will be able to strengthen its market position in “one of the fastest growing wealth management markets in the world,” having already successfully expanded “its private banking franchise in Europe, Asia and the Middle East”. With this transaction, Prince Max von und zu Liechtenstein, Chairman of LGT, emphasized that the bank is acquiring “a preeminent wealth advisory firm with excellent further growth opportunities in the attractive Australian market”. LGT from Liechtenstein is a private banking and asset management group. According to the company profile, it has total assets of 275 billion francs for private and institutional clients and is represented in more than 20 offices worldwide with over 3,900 employees.

Crestone manages assets worth the equivalent of 17 billion francs for high-net-worth clients and family offices, not-for-profit organizations, and financial institutions in the Australian market. Its 250 employees provide comprehensive services in investment advice and portfolio management services. The sale to LGT is a chance for the company to extend its global services and investment offering to clients. Through this transaction, Crestone can “deliver greater scale benefits to our clients whilst drawing on the experience, skills, and global insights of a leading wealth management firm like LGT,” said Michael Chisholm, Chief Executive Officer of Crestone.

The transaction is subject to Crestone shareholder and regulatory approvals and is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2022.