Avantax Inc., a provider of wealth-management software and services, is exploring options including a potential sale, people with knowledge of the matter said.
(Bloomberg) — Avantax Inc., a provider of wealth-management software and services, is exploring options including a potential sale, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The Dallas-based company is working with a financial adviser as it seeks to gauge interest from potential buyers, according to the people, who asked to not be identified because the details are private. No final decisions have been made and Avantax could opt to remain independent, they said.
A representative for Avantax declined to comment.
Shares in Avantax were up 2.5% at 12:31 p.m. in New York trading Tuesday, giving the company a market value of about $923 million. The stock has fallen roughly 6.3% this year.
Avantax changed its name in January from Blucora, following the divestiture of its tax-software division. The company operates in the so-called registered investment advisory space, a highly-fragmented market that offers financial-planning services to families, individuals and small businesses. An independent broker-dealer, it has a network of more than 3,100 professionals that manages more than $80 billion in assets, according to its website.
Engine Capital, an activist hedge fund in the stock, called on Avantax to explore a sale last month, saying it could fetch as much as $32 per share amid rapid consolidation in asset management.
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