By David French and Greg Roumeliotis
Feb 21 (Reuters) - The private equity owner of HighTower Advisors is exploring ways to cash out of the largest registered investment adviser in the United States, including through a potential sale of the company, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.
Thomas H. Lee Partners is consulting with advisers about a partial or full divestment of its majority stake in HighTower, which would value the entire company at more than $2 billion, including debt, the sources said.
HighTower, which was established in 2008, generates about $100 million in 12-month earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), according to five of the sources.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is confidential. Thomas H. Lee and HighTower declined to comment.
A deal would be the latest example of a partial or full sale of a wealth management firm.
Private equity firm General Atlantic earlier this month bought a minority stake in Creative Planning for an undisclosed amount. The Overland Park, Kansas-based registered investment adviser manages $50 billion of client money.
(Reporting by David French and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Tom Brown)
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