Bain Capital has entered exclusive negotiations with Australian financial services group Perpetual Ltd. for the potential acquisition of its wealth management business, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.

Perpetual confirmed the exclusivity agreement on Wednesday, emphasising that discussions are ongoing and no final transaction has yet been agreed. Shares in Perpetual fell 0.7% following the announcement and are down around 5% year-to-date.

The move follows the collapse of Perpetual’s previous deal with KKR to sell its wealth and corporate trust units. The Sydney-based firm has since focused on selling only the wealth management arm, which had also attracted interest from Oaktree Capital Management.

Australia’s rapidly expanding wealth and pensions industries continue to draw global private equity interest. In recent months, CC Capital and One Investment Management agreed to acquire Insignia Financial for A$3.3bn ($2.1bn), while Swedish private equity firm EQT made a A$5.2bn ($3.4bn) bid for insurance broker AUB Group.

If successful, Bain’s acquisition would mark another major entry by an international private equity firm into Australia’s financial services sector, underscoring the strong global appetite for exposure to the country’s growing wealth management market.

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