Centerbridge said to be in talks to buy Advisor Group

Centerbridge Partners is in talks to buy independent broker-dealer Advisor Group Inc. for more than $2 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

The private equity firm could reach a deal as soon as this week to acquire Advisor Group, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the matter isn’t public.

A deal hasn’t been finalized and talks could fall through, the people said. The company, which has been working with an adviser to explore a sale, has drawn interest from other private equity firms and broker-dealers, the people said.

In 2016, American International Group Inc. sold Advisor Group to private equity firm Lightyear Capital and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board of Canada.

A representative for Lightyear declined to comment. Representatives for Advisor Group, Centerbridge and PSP didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Advisor Group’s independent broker-dealer network in the U.S. has more than 7,000 advisers offering sales, administrative, compliance support, technology and other wealth management services, according to its website. The company had $1.7 billion in gross revenue and $228 billion in assets under administration in 2018 — both increasing 20% from the previous year, according to a statement on its website.

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The company’s firms include FSC Securities, Royal Alliance, SagePoint Financial and Woodbury Financial.

Centerbridge, based in New York, invests in private equity, credit and real estate. The firm had about $28 billion under management at the end of 2018, according to a statement this month.