Status:  Clearance

Acquirer:  Huatai Securities Co., Ltd. (China); AssetMark Financial Holdings, Inc., (US)

Acquired:  WBI OBS Financial, LLC (US)

Value:  US$18.4 million

Industry:  Financial Services

On September 30, 2019, AssetMark Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AMK), a “provider of extensive wealth management and technology solutions that power independent financial advisers and their clients,” (AssetMark Financial Holdings, Inc., “What We Do” web page), entered into an agreement to acquire WBI OBS Financial, LLC, an Ohio holding company for OBS Financial Services, Inc., a registered investment advisor that provides “a broad suite of integrated wealth management services for institutional and individual investors.”  (AssetMark Financial Holdings, Inc., Form 10-Q, May 13, 2020, SEC Filing.)  The acquisition was “subject to closing conditions that included approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (‘CFIUS’).  On February 29, 2020, the Company closed the acquisition . . .”  (Id.)  “Through the OBS acquisition, [AssetMark Financial Holdings] acquired approximately $2.1 billion in platform assets and 499 new financial adviser relationships, of which 67 advisers are engaged advisers.”  (Id.)  Huatai Securities Co., Ltd., a Chinese company, is the ultimate parent of Huatai International Investment Holdings Limited, which holds approximately 70.3% of the outstanding shares of AssetMark Financial Holdings, Inc.  (AssetMark Financial Holdings, Inc., Schedule 14A, Apr. 24, 2020, SEC Filing.)  See prior CFIUS case involving Assetmark Financial on our blog here.