RF Capital Group Inc. shareholders voted on Monday to approve the firm’s $597-million sale to iA Financial Corp.
The offer of $20 per common share (and $25 in cash for Series B preferred shares) was announced in July. The purchase price includes $370 million for RF Capital’s diluted equity and $227 million in financial obligations.
To pass, the deal required the approval of two-thirds of votes cast; 98.9% of common shares were voted in approval and 99.6% of preferred shares.
RF Capital, operating as Richardson Wealth, holds $42 billion in assets under administration (AUA) and its acquisition will add 189 advisors to Quebec-based iA. The merger will bring iA’s Wealth’s network to 2,769 advisors and about $175 billion in AUA.
The tie-up still requires regulatory approvals. It’s expected to close in the fourth quarter.
In its information circular outlining the proposal, RF Capital said it began considering its options for a strategic transaction — including a sale — in December 2024. It also said one other party explored a bid for the company, making a confidential, unsolicited, non-binding proposal for RF in late February, even upping its offer as high as $21 per share in March. However, it withdrew its proposal on April 9, citing ”recent market volatility and uncertainty associated with the United States’ tariff policies.”
Canaccord attempted to acquire RF Capital in 2021, but withdrew its bid that June after being repeatedly rebuffed.