In keeping with our mission to provide comprehensive advertising analysis, MediaRadar puts together a report of the most important mergers and acquisitions news each week. Stay in the loop, whether you sell advertising space or focus on business development.
This week, Axos Financial acquired E*Trade Advisor Services (EAS), Platinum Equity finished buying McGraw Hill and Victoria’s Secret gained independence.
Axos Financial gained E*TRADE Advisor Services
Axos Financial is buying E*Trade Advisor Services (EAS), a provider of integrated technology, custody, and practice management support for registered investment advisors (RIAs), in a $55 million all-cash deal.
The business was previously subsumed into Morgan Stanley in 2020 as part of its $13 billion takeover of E*Trade Financial Corp. The deal includes approximately $23 billion in assets under custody and another $1.2 billion in client cash deposits, across “approximately 200 RIA custody relationships,” according to Gregory Garrabrants, president and CEO of Axos Financial.
The acquisition will be completed by the firm’s clearing subsidiary, Axos Clearing LLC and is expected to close in Q3 of this year, vaulting Axos into the competitive RIA custodian marketplace.
Platinum Equity purchased McGraw Hill
Private equity firm Platinum Equity has completed its acquisition of textbook publishing and educational technology company McGraw Hill from Apollo Global Management for $4.5 billion.
Founded in 1888, McGraw Hill provides textbooks and learning solutions to millions of students globally, curated content and digital learning tools to 250,000 higher education instructors, 13,000 pre-K to 12th-grade school districts, and many academic institutions. The company’s educational products are distributed in more than 100 countries.
Under the ownership of Apollo, McGraw Hill became less print-centric and grew its digital portfolio from less than a quarter of its total revenue to more than 60%. McGraw Hill CEO Simon Allen and his leadership team will continue to lead the company under Platinum Equity.
Victoria’s Secret separated from Bath & Body Works
L Brands Inc. announced that it has completed the spinoff of its Victoria’s Secret business into an independent and publicly traded company.
The new Victoria’s Secret & Co. carries the Victoria’s Secret Lingerie, PINK and Victoria’s Secret Beauty brands.
Additionally, the rest of the business will be renamed Bath & Body Works, Inc.
The lingerie retailer was supposed to be bought by private equity firm Sycamore Partners in 2020 for $525 million, but the COVID-19 pandemic changed the retail business landscape and Sycamore backed off.
In Other News
Other highlights from this week include:
- AT&T Inc. has completed the $16.25 billion spinoff of its DirecTV division with private equity firm TPG Capital.
- American sportswear and footwear retailer, Foot Locker announced its $1.1 billion acquisition of two smaller retailers.
- Financial services and digital payments company Square, Inc. announced that it has reached a deal to acquire financial technology company Afterpay Ltd. for $29 billion.
- Actress Reese Witherspoon’s entertainment company Hello Sunshine announced that it is selling itself to a new media company backed by private equity firm Blackstone Group Inc.
- Penn National Gaming, Inc, an operator of casinos and racetracks, announced that it is acquiring Score Media and Gaming, a digital media and sports betting company, for $2 billion.
- VICI Properties, a real estate investment trust specializing in casino properties, announced that it is acquiring MGM Growth Properties in a $17.2 billion deal.
- Semiconductor giant Qualcomm Incorporated has submitted an offer to acquire American Swedish automotive technology company Veoneer for $4.6 billion.
