AJ Bell PLC (LSE:AJB) has struck a deal to sell part of its non-platform pension business for £25 million to buy-and-build pensions group InvestAcc Group Ltd (LSE:INAC).
The Platinum SIPP and SSAS business has 3,600 customers with £3.2 billion of assets under administration, which will transfer to InvestAcc on completion.
FTSE 250-listed AJ Bell will receive £17.5 million of cash on completion, expected in the second half of the year, plus £1 million in new InvestAcc shares. The remaining £6.5 million cash payment is subject to certain conditions.
AJ Bell said the sale does not impact its guidance for this year, with CEO Michael Summersgill adding that it "simplifies our business model, enabling the management team to focus on AJ Bell's core platform business".
InvestAcc boss Will Self said the Platinum SIPP and SSAS business has "exceptional service proposition and high-quality products [that] make it a perfect strategic fit".
InvestAcc was merged with Marwyn Acquisition Company II last October in a £30 million fundraising and acquisition deal, with an ambition "to build the UK's leading specialist pensions administration business through our buy-and-build strategy".
The AJ Bell deal represents the second acquisition under active review, it said in a separate statement.