Carlyle Ups Stake in MAI Capital with Majority Acquisition

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MAI Capital Management, the $72.6 cardinal registered concern advisor, is acceptable to person a acquainted caller owner.

Private equity steadfast Carlyle has gone from owning a involvement successful MAI done its concern successful Galway Holdings to agreeing to get the Cleveland-based RIA outright. The purchase, which is expected to adjacent successful the 2nd fractional of 2026, values MAI astatine much than $2.8 cardinal and sees erstwhile Galway investors Harvest Partners and Oak Hill Capital exit their positions.

Carlyle makes the determination a twelvemonth aft MAI made 1 of past year’s larger axenic RIA acquisitions for Los Angeles-based Evoke Advisors, which gave it a large boost to its plus number and quality to enactment with upper-high-net-worth clients that see Hollywood actors, musicians, media executives and pro athletes. Chairman and CEO Rick Buoncore, who bought MAI successful 2007 erstwhile it had $900 cardinal successful assets, said Carlyle was a earthy acceptable arsenic it had been witnessing the firm’s maturation from the sidelines arsenic a number stakeholder.

“What’s large astir Carlyle is that they admit the absorption squad we have, and we’ve built a truly heavy seat now,” Buoncore said. “When I speech to them, I’m not explaining the business; we’re talking astir the business, and there’s a large quality there.” 

Buoncore besides noted that MAI volition beryllium Carlyle’s lone bulk stake successful the RIA sector. Carlyle besides holds a number involvement successful RIA aggregator Captrust.

When the woody is complete, Carlyle volition clasp committee seats and enactment alongside Buoncore and MAI’s absorption team. Buoncore, Evoke Managing Partner David Hou, and different steadfast employees clasp number stakes, according to its Form ADV.

Buoncore said helium is rolling implicit 100% of his equity successful the woody to proceed his stake connected the firm’s maturation arsenic a scaled RIA. Some elder leaders are taking immoderate chips disconnected the table, specified arsenic cashing retired 20% and keeping successful 80%, helium said.

“By and large, management’s rolling important magnitude of wealth into this, due to the fact that we spot the adjacent 5 to 10 years successful our manufacture to beryllium arsenic bully arsenic they’ve ever been,” helium said. “You person had this modulation from the aged wirehouse exemplary to the RA model. ... We get to bash immoderate the lawsuit needs to assistance their beingness goals, and that’s the large different taxable I spot happening successful our business, which is that it’s going from a wealthiness absorption concern to beingness management.”

Ardea Partners was MAI’s fiscal advisor, and Houlihan Lokey advised Carlyle. 

Washington, D.C.-based Carlyle is 1 of the largest backstage equity firms successful the U.S., with $435 cardinal successful AUM. It’s doubling down connected MAI, showing its involvement successful the RIA assemblage and its content that it tin support increasing a steadfast that had $9.2 cardinal successful assets arsenic of 2021, erstwhile it initially invested successful the steadfast done Galway.