French insurance giant Axa is in talks to acquire financial advice group Thinc Destini for around GBP170 million, according to a media report.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that the deal would be one of the largest acquisitions by an insurer of a financial advice firms and could earn the three directors around GBP12 million each. All three have indicated that they are committed to staying with the company in the event of a sale.
The company was created from the merger of Thinc Group and Destini Group last October and is one of the UK’s ten largest financial advice firms. Last December, Thinc Destini sold a 10% stake to HBOS and Friends Provident, in a deal that valued the business at GBP109 million, although the company has since expanded.