Swedish private equity giant EQT is pursuing Australian asset manager Perpetual more aggressively and its ambitions already extend to Canadian advisors
Swedish private equity firm EQT AB has submitted a fourth takeover proposal for Perpetual Limited, the Australian asset manager whose drawn-out restructuring has made it one of the most contested targets in global fund management this year.
People briefed on the matter, who were not identified due to confidentiality agreements, told Australia's Financial Review that EQT put an improved offer to Perpetual's board over the weekend of September 20, 2026. The new bid was expected to be disclosed on Monday.
EQT, which oversees approximately $445 billion in assets globally, has been pursuing the ASX-listed company since July 1, 2026, when a share price surge prompted the board to disclose an initial approach of A$21.64 per share.
EQT is already targeting Canadian advisors
EQT has been building its private wealth platform globally at a rapid pace, and Canada is explicitly part of that strategy.
In April 2025, the firm launched EQT Nexus Infrastructure, its latest semi-liquid evergreen strategy, making it available to individual and institutional investors across Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Canada, according to EQT's Q1 2025 announcement.
The product gives investors exposure to EQT's infrastructure strategies and direct investments in infrastructure companies within its portfolio, through the same active ownership model it applies to its institutional clients.
By the end of June 2026, EQT had reached €10 billion in net asset value across its evergreen products, a milestone that underscores the pace at which the firm is channelling private wealth capital into its platform. EQT's results showed that 26 per cent of all capital raised during the 2024–2025 period came through private wealth channels, according to industry analysis published in February 2026.
For Canadian financial advisors who are actively building private markets allocations for clients EQT is already at the table with products designed to compete for the same allocations advisors are sourcing from established domestic and global alternatives platforms.
A successful acquisition of Perpetual's multi-boutique asset management business would add further scale and investment strategies to a firm that is clearly thinking about distribution in this market.
A takeover that involves two well-known names
EQT is not the only firm reshaping Perpetual's future. In March 2026, Bain Capital agreed to acquire Perpetual's wealth management division for approximately A$500 million in upfront cash, with an earnout of up to A$50 million based on performance over the two years following completion, according to a disclosure to the Australian Securities Exchange.
Bain Capital has become a significant player in the wealth management ecosystem, most notably through its take-private of US wealth-technology platform Envestnet and minority stakes in RIA consolidators.
Any EQT deal for Perpetual's remaining asset management operations (the multi-boutique investment business that spans several global markets) is explicitly conditional on the Bain transaction completing first. Perpetual has made this sequencing clear throughout the negotiations. The two firms are, in effect, dividing a major Australian financial services institution between them, with each eyeing what the resulting platform can deliver beyond Australia's borders.
Notably, Perpetual's global asset management operations including those in Canada and the United States are outside the scope of both transactions. Advisors and clients with existing relationships with Perpetual's investment management business should not expect direct disruption regardless of how the takeover resolves.
A long and public pursuit
EQT's fourth approach is the latest chapter in an unusually combative negotiation. Its opening bid of A$21.64 per share in early July 2026 was rejected by Perpetual's board as highly conditional and not representative of fair value. A second offer of A$22.07 per share was turned down after the board found it was "not in the best interests" of shareholders — even as EQT had included a clause stating the offer would be automatically withdrawn if disclosed.
The board disclosed it anyway. A third bid, at A$22.50 per share, representing a 4 per cent premium to EQT's original approach, was also rejected in late July 2026. Rival suitor Janus Henderson has also reportedly entered the picture, according to the Financial Review, adding further competitive pressure on EQT.
The pursuit extends well beyond this year. Perpetual's history with private equity goes back to October 2010, when KKR made a A$1.8 billion bid for the entire company. More recently, a deal to sell Perpetual's corporate trust division to KKR collapsed in February 2025 after an unexpectedly high tax bill caused both parties to terminate the transaction.
What it means for Canadian advisors
The Perpetual saga illustrates a structural shift that is playing out in Canada as much as anywhere.
Global private equity firms are no longer content to own advisory businesses from a distance; they are building distribution infrastructure, launching retail-accessible products, and competing directly for a share of the alternatives allocations that advisors are increasingly placing on behalf of high-net-worth clients.
EQT's move into Canada through its evergreen product suite, and its simultaneous pursuit of Perpetual's global investment management platform, reflect a coherent strategy: build product scale, then distribute it through the private wealth channel.
