Activist helped spur this takeover

Article Excerpt

AVANTAX INC. $26 is a hold. The company (Nasdaq symbol AVTA; Finance Sector; Shares outstanding: 36.8 million; Market cap: $956.8 million; No dividend paid; Takeover Target Rating: Highest; www.avantax.com) offers wealth management, insurance and tax planning services through roughly 3,100 advisors. It also has $83.8 billion in assets under administration. In October 2022, the company sold its TaxAct do-it-yourself tax software business for $720.0 million. Partly due to pressure from activist investor Engine Capital, which owns 2% of the firm, Avantax has accepted a $26.00-a-share takeover offer from Cetera Financial Group. That price is nearly 30% higher than the trading price the day before the announcement. Assuming shareholders and regulators approve, the company expects to complete the transaction by the end of 2023. Avantax shareholders should tender their shares to the offer. offer…