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SkyView Launches Digital Platform for Wealth Management M&A and Financing

SkyView Partners, a correspondent lender focused on helping independent advisors, broker-dealers, and RIAs to pursue mergers, acquisitions and succession plans, has launched their Advisory Practice Board of Exchange (APBOE).

SkyView Partners, a correspondent lender focused on helping independent advisors, broker-dealers, and RIAs to pursue mergers, acquisitions and succession plans, has launched their Advisory Practice Board of Exchange (APBOE). APBOE is a subscription-free marketplace for buying and selling wealth management practices in conjunction with access to bank financing.

“We sought to launch an online M&A experience for independent and registered investment advisors that would narrow the dislocation between the number of buyers and sellers coming to market in an efficient and confidential platform,” said Scott Wetzel, chief executive officer of SkyView Partners. “Currently, we have approximately two buyers per every seller on APBOE.”

APBOE has several features to attract prospective buyers, the company said, including “clear seller search results, site participation anonymity maintained by only allowing verified sellers to view buyer profiles, and a platform to compete for seller listings.” Additionally, to promote anonymity and productivity for sellers, APBOE requires that an M&A consultant is utilized for sell-side representation.

“It’s been our experience that ‘for sale by owner’ transactions commonly do not close, and, if successful, sellers experience significant heartburn. The assistance of an M&A consultant drastically increases the probability of closing and commonly increases net proceeds,” added Wetzel.

In conjunction with their M&A consultants, sellers can search prospective buyers based on their “PurchasingPower” score, a proprietary ranking methodology gauging buyer creditworthiness and preparedness to acquire a practice. The score is derived from 31 data points verified by the APBOE staff. For buyers to compete, they need to develop a verified score by completing a practice profile, in addition to providing substantiating documentation.

Initial APBOE market participants include several M&A consultants, including ECHELON Partners, DeVoe & Company, Smart Concepts Group and Advisor Legacy, which are providing consulting services to support buyers and sellers.

In 2018, SkyView initiated construction of a group of community and regional banks interested in funding loans from wealth management industry participants. SkyView has engaged New York-based investment banking firm Sandler O’Neill + Partners L.P. as its financial advisor.

SkyView Partners is based in Wayzata, Minnesota and through two integrated digital marketplaces – APBOE and The Lender Marketplace –connects buyers and sellers from across the country and provides access to a network of lenders to search, select and finance practice mergers and acquisitions.

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