The legal structure is that Williams de Broë, the wholly owned private client investment management subsidiary of the Evolution Group, is looking to take on BNP Paribas Private Investment Management (BNP PIM).
BNP PIM is the mostly domestic/UK-focussed part of its business and is essentially the Fortis Private Investment Management business that BNP Paribas Wealth Management bought from Fortis Bank in 2009.
Should the acquisition be successful, BNP Paribas Wealth Management’s private client division will be left as Insinger de Beaufort, whose client base is UK though predominantly international-based.
Evolution has confirmed there will be no further comment until an agreement is reached or the discussions are terminated.