Liechtenstein-based LGT has expanded its Australia business with the acquisition of the wealth advisory unit of the country’s largest lender.
LGT has agreed to acquire the personal advice business of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) – Commonwealth Private Advice – according to a statement.
The acquisition is expected to transfer more than A$5 billion ($3.3 billion) in assets from CBA’s ultra and high net worth clients to LGT, alongside the integration of around 40 advisers, associates and support staff into LGT Crestone, LGT’s Australian business. The transaction is slated to close by mid-2025.
Inorganic Growth
The latest deal marks another move by the Liechtenstein-based bank to grow its Australia business inorganically. In 2021, it acquired Crestone Wealth Management, a spinoff of UBS’ former Australian business. Today, LGT’s operations in the country include a presence in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney with around A$32 billion in assets under management and more than 350 employees at LGT Crestone.
«With this acquisition, we are accelerating our growth trajectory in one of the world’s most promising wealth markets, deepening our commitment to the APAC region and our clients here,» said LGT chair H.S.H. Prince Max von und zu Liechtenstein. «Today, APAC represents more than a third of LGT’s business, a reflection of both our strategic focus and our ambition to build a truly diversified global private banking group.»
