Breaking Down the Biggest Financial Services Deals in August 2025

In the financial services industry, transaction news moves fast.

From billion-dollar mergers to niche RIA roll-ups, it’s easy to get lost in the noise. Staying on top of who’s buying, selling, or raising capital can feel overwhelming.

At Dakota, we simplify this by centralizing the most important deal activity into one place, making it easier for you to track the moves that matter.

In this article, we’re breaking down the key segments where we saw activity within the financial services industry. By the end, you’ll walk away with the key takeaways and top transactions from the first half of August.

Key Takeaways from August

Wealth & Asset Management Consolidation Surges – Multiple RIA roll-ups and platform acquisitions (Mercer, Arax, Aspen, Soltis, Ashton Thomas) highlight private equity–backed aggregators accelerating their pipelines. This remains one of the hottest areas in financial services M&A.

Why is this important: This shows that scale is becoming essential. Larger platforms can spread compliance, tech, and operational costs across more advisors, while also creating better exit opportunities for founders.

Global Cross-Border Activity Accelerates – Korean insurers entering the US (Hanwha → Velocity), Middle Eastern sovereign funds investing (Mumtalakat → BlueFive, TAIC portfolio shift), and European banks consolidating (BBVA/Sabadell, BNP/Athlon).

Why is this important: When Korean insurers, Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, and European banks move into new geographies, it signals global capital flows are shifting. This has implications for capital availability in U.S. and European markets, Strategic partnerships between East–West finance players, and greater competition as foreign entrants expand into wealth, insurance, and lending.

IPO & Capital Markets Momentum Returns – Klarna, PayPay, Bullish, and SK Finance are pushing IPO pipelines, suggesting public markets are reopening for fintechs, digital assets, and payments firms.

Why is this important: Those pushing forward with IPOs reflect a reopening of the equity window after a long drought. If these listings succeed, it sets a positive precedent for other fintechs and digital asset players that have been waiting on the sidelines. A reopening IPO market is often a signal of broader investor risk appetite returning.

Private Equity & Sovereign Wealth Funds Driving Deals – Carlyle, Advent, Blackstone, Brookfield, and sovereign funds like Mumtalakat are central players across M&A and growth financings.

Why is this important: These players dictate valuation norms, provide long-term capital, and often set industry consolidation strategies. Their active participation means deal activity is far from cooling; instead, it’s concentrating among a few major players with deep pockets.

Credit & Financing Innovation – Big moves in private credit (Brinley’s $4B CLO, Manulife/Comvest private credit merger, Ares loan to Highstreet) highlight growing demand for alternatives and structured capital.

Why is this important: These Private credit deals demonstrate the continued rise of private credit as a mainstream asset class. As banks pull back, non-bank lenders are filling the gap with structured financing solutions. This not only supports M&A and growth financing but also reshapes how companies access capital outside traditional banks.

Key Segments of Activity

In this section, we’ll go over key segments where we saw activity in the financial industry. We’ve broken this out into activity within these 3 groups: RIA & Wealth Management, Insurance & Financial Services, and Technology & Data.

RIA & Wealth Management

The RIA M&A wave is still strong, fueled by private equity. Here are some notable acquisitions thus far:

• $77B RIA Mercer Global Advisors, backed by Oak Hill Capital Partners, Genstar Capital and Atlas Partners, closed the acquisition of Family Wealth Planning Group and its affiliate Family Wealth Tax Advisory, a Naples, FL-based wealth and tax planning firm overseeing $1.2B in assets. Source
• Wealth and asset management firm Arax Investment Partners, which is backed by RedBird Capital Partners, acquired Chesterfield, MO-based $1B RIA Summit Wealth Strategies. Summit Wealth will join Arax’s independent firms platform Arax Advisory Partners. Source
• Alpine Investors-backed Aspen Standard Wealth acquired Braintree, MA-based $1.1B MG Financial. Terms of the acquisition, which is Aspen's fourth deal since its inception in 2024, were not disclosed. Source
• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth, an Arax Investment Partners firm, acquired Honolulu, HI-based RIA Kobo Wealth Conservancy. The firm manages $155.4M in client assets, including $121.2M discretionary assets. Arax Investment Partners is backed by private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners. Source
• Soltis Investment Advisors, an $11B RIA backed by Estancia Capital Partners and LLR Partners, acquired Utah-based $500M High End Financial. The firm is led by Jay Wells, who joins Soltis as senior advisor, institutional and wealth services. Source
• Global professional services company Aon is reportedly considering selling $31B Wealthspire Advisors, and has retained UBS to act as a financial advisor for the planned sale. Aon gained control of the wealth advisor, which was previously owned by NFP, through its December 2023 agreement to acquire NFP from private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners and private credit manager HPS Investment Partners. Source

Insurance & Financial

Traditional insurance and banking players are pursuing scale and cross-border diversification. Here are some notable transactions:

• Brookfield Wealth Solutions (BWS), a financial services company spun out of Brookfield Corp. in 2021, agreed to acquire UK insurer Just Group for £2.4B ($3.2B). BWS is also planning to merge Just Group with its UK unit, Blumont. RBC Capital Markets advised Brookfield, while Evercore and JPMorgan Cazenove advised Just Group. Source
• France’s Axa SA is reportedly nearing the acquisition of Milan-based car insurer Prima Assicurazioni for approximately €1B ($1.2B), including debt. Prima, which serves over 4M customers across Italy, the UK, and Spain and is backed by Blackstone, Goldman Sachs Group and Carlyle Group’s global credit platform, will retain its management post-acquisition. Source
• South Korea’s Hanwha Life Insurance completed the acquisition of a 75% stake in US-based global financial services firm Velocity Clearing from an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management. The deal marks the first time a Korean insurer has acquired a US securities firm. BDA Partners served as financial advisor for Hanwha Life, with Skadden providing legal counsel. Houlihan Lokey and Wollmuth Maher & Deutsch, along with Schulte Roth & Zabel, advised Velocity Clearing. Source
• BNP Paribas SA is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire Mercedes-Benz Group AG's car-leasing unit, Athlon, for approximately €1B ($1.2B). The acquisition, which would expand BNP Paribas' existing car leasing business through its subsidiary Arval, is part of a broader review of operations by Stuttgart, Germany, Germany-based Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes had previously acquired Athlon from Dutch lender Rabobank in 2016 for about €1.1B ($1.3B). Source
• BBVA SA affirmed its €16.6B ($19.2B) takeover offer for rival bank Banco Sabadell SA, even after Sabadell's investors voted to sell its UK unit, TSB. The sale of TSB to Banco Santander SA results in an extraordinary dividend for Sabadell's shareholders. BBVA's decision to proceed with its unsolicited bid comes despite political opposition from the Spanish government and highlights its continued push to combine with Spain's fourth-largest bank. BBVA expects to begin the acceptance period for the bid in early September. Source

Technology & Data

SaaS/data-driven platforms in finance are becoming attractive buyout targets. Here are some notable ones: 

• Datasite, a SaaS provider for M&A workflow solutions, acquired Sourcescrub, a California-based company specializing in deal-sourcing data. The acquisition, which includes the integration of Sourcescrub's data into Datasite's existing Grata platform, is part of a broader Datasite strategy fueled by a $500M investment from CapVest Partners. Source 
• Private equity firm Advent agreed to acquire SaaS-based software solutions company Sapiens International for about $2.5B in an all-cash deal. Existing investor Formula Systems (1985) will retain a minority stake in the company. Sapiens will become a privately held company after completion of the deal, which is expected in the fourth quarter of 2025 or first quarter of 2026. William Blair is the financial advisor to Sapiens and Latham & Watkins and Meitar Law Offices are acting as legal counsel. Citi is the financial advisor to Advent and Kirkland & Ellis and Herzog Fox Neeman are legal counsel. Source
• Australian financial technology software firm Iress is in early-stage talks with Blackstone and Thoma Bravo for a potential takeover that could value the company at approximately AUD 2B ($1.3B). Iress, which provides software for trading and market data, was also the target of acquisition interest from other firms in recent years. Goldman Sachs Group is acting as a financial adviser to Iress, with King & Wood Mallesons its legal adviser. Source

Growth & Financing

Growth capital flowing heavily into fintech, insurtech, and credit platforms. Here are some notable transactions: 

• Brinley Partners, a private credit firm backed by British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), secured a $4B commitment from an undisclosed major US insurer to fund the firm’s inaugural CLO – a $1B vehicle and the first installment in a planned series of rolling vintages – in a deal expected to advance the firm’s growth as a multi-product credit platform. BCI has committed over $2.5B to Brinley since first investing in 2021. Source
• Saphyre, a New Jersey-based AI-powered platform automating finance operations and trading workflows, secured a $70M growth equity investment from FTV Capital to support its go-to-market expansion, product innovation and integration across global financial services. Mike Cichowski, partner at FTV Capital, joined Saphyre’s board as part of the deal. Source
• 401(k) provider Human Interest secured a $50M investment from Morgan Stanley Tactical Value as part of its Series E funding round. The new capital brings the company's total funding to over $700M. The company, which is preparing for a potential IPO, also recently launched PartnerConnect, a platform for financial advisors. Source
• An equity financing round led by Tencent Holdings and VR Capital Group valued Uzbek fintech and e-commerce company Uzum at approximately $1.5B. The round, which also included participation from FinSight Ventures, raised nearly $70M. Uzum, which provides services from digital banking to food delivery, became Uzbekistan's first unicorn last year and the new funding round marks one of Tencent's initial investments in the Central Asian region. Source
• TNG Digital, Malaysia's largest fintech company and operator of a popular e-wallet app, achieved unicorn status with a valuation over $1B. The company, which recently turned profitable, is now considering an initial public offering (IPO), according to its shareholder, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd. TNG Digital joins Carsome Group as one of Malaysia's few unicorns, contributing to the nation's goal of having five by 2030. Source
• Blackstone is establishing a $1B reinsurance vehicle to assume some of the risk from F&G Annuities & Life books. The deal allows F&G to offload risk from future fixed-indexed annuities, helping the insurer move toward a more fee-based, less capital-intensive business model. Source

Top Transactions

In this section, we’ll review the top transactions we have seen this month. From mergers and acquisitions, venture and growth capital, and more 

M&A

Venture & Growth

Other News / IPO Pipeline

Turn Insights Into Action

In the financial services industry, transaction activity moves at a relentless pace. From multi-billion dollar mergers to niche RIA acquisitions and the resurgence of IPO pipelines, August made clear just how challenging it can be to keep up with the constant flow of deal news.

That’s where Dakota Marketplace comes in. By centralizing the most important M&A, venture, and capital markets activity, Dakota Marketplace makes it simple to cut through the noise and follow the transactions that matter most to you.

The themes this month from accelerating RIA roll-ups, cross-border consolidation, and renewed momentum in IPOs and private credit, show how quickly the industry is evolving. With Dakota Marketplace, you’ll always have a clear view of the market’s biggest moves and what they mean for the future of financial services.

To keep up with financial service transactions or other transactions across the private market industry, book a demo of Dakota Marketplace!