10/14/2015
San Francisco, CA — Parthenon Capital Partners (“Parthenon Capital”), a leading growth-oriented private equity firm, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell portfolio company HD Vest Financial Services® (“HD Vest”) which is the holding company for the operating subsidiaries providing financial services under the HD Vest name to Blucora, Inc. (NASDAQ: BCOR) for approximately $600 million. HD Vest’s president and chief executive officer, Roger Ochs, and his team will continue to lead the company going forward.
Based in Dallas, TX, HD Vest is the leading independent broker-dealer providing wealth management and advisory solutions specifically for tax professionals. Under the terms of the agreement, HD Vest will remain a stand-alone entity under its current brand, executive leadership team and operating platform. HD Vest’s independent network of over 4,500 tax and non-tax financial professionals, who manage over $36 billion in client assets and provide comprehensive investment planning solutions for individuals, families and institutions, will continue to operate as independent advisors without interruption or change in their executive leadership team, business model, and with the same broker-dealer and advisory platforms currently in place.
Parthenon Capital partnered with management to purchase HD Vest from Wells Fargo in 2011. Throughout the partnership, Parthenon Capital and management invested in the Company to transform the business into an industry leader, providing world class technology, systems, compliance, and marketing to its advisors to drive the success of their businesses. “Roger and his team did a phenomenal job transitioning HD Vest to a standalone entity, investing in the success of their advisors, and creating the best technology platform in the industry. We have thoroughly enjoyed working alongside Roger and his team,” said Andrew Dodson, a partner at Parthenon Capital. Added Brian Golson, managing partner at Parthenon Capital, “Partnering with Roger, the management team, and the advisors of HD Vest has been a pleasure. We are proud of what we have accomplished together and wish the team all the best going forward.”
“Today, HD Vest is the strongest it has been in its 32-year history,” commented Roger Ochs. “We have accomplished a tremendous amount over the past four years, building upon the foundation to create an unparalleled platform for our 4,500 advisors and 360,000+ individual clients. On behalf of our advisors and management team, I would like to thank Parthenon Capital for their partnership in achieving this success.”
About Parthenon Capital Partners
Parthenon Capital Partners is a leading mid-market private equity firm based in Boston and San Francisco. Parthenon utilizes niche industry expertise and a deep execution team to invest in growth companies in service industries. Parthenon seeks to be an active and aligned partner to management, either through recapitalization transactions or by backing new executives. Parthenon has particular expertise in business services, financial and insurance services and healthcare, but seeks any service, technology or delivery business with a strong value proposition and proprietary know-how. Parthenon’s investment team has deep experience in corporate strategy, capital markets and operations, enabling the firm to pursue complex, multi-faceted value creation opportunities. For more information, visit www.parthenoncapital.com.