Manulife Completes Acquisition of Comvest Credit Partners

Rhea-AI Summary

Manulife (TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC) announced it has closed the acquisition of a 75% stake in Comvest Credit Partners, establishing the combined private credit platform Manulife | Comvest Credit Partners on Nov 3, 2025. Comvest employees retain a 25% interest with a path to full ownership six years after closing. Manulife said the deal is immediately accretive to core EPS, core ROE and core EBITDA margin and will leverage its >US$900 billion Global Wealth & Asset Management scale and global distribution to expand private credit origination and solutions.

Manulife also cautioned that forward-looking benefits are subject to risks and uncertainties and actual results may differ materially from expectations.

Positive

• 75% stake acquired in Comvest Credit Partners completed on Nov 3, 2025
• Comvest employees retain 25% interest, aligning incentives
• Transaction is stated immediately accretive to core EPS
• Leverages >US$900 billion Global WAM scale and global distribution

Negative

• Company warns anticipated benefits may not materialize due to risks and uncertainties

Insights

Private Credit Strategist

Manulife closed a 75% acquisition of Comvest, creating an enlarged private credit platform that the company says is immediately accretive.

Manulife acquired 75% of Comvest Credit Partners on Nov. 3, 2025, combining Comvest's origination and underwriting capabilities with Manulife's Global WAM scale (more than US$900 billion). The seller group retains 25% and there is a path to full ownership 6 years after closing. Management states the deal is immediately accretive to core EPS, core ROE and core EBITDA margin, and will sit alongside existing private equity and distribution channels.

The key dependencies are integration of teams and product sets, retention of Comvest leadership and the performance of newly originated private credit assets; those items determine whether the stated accretion and growth materialize. Legal and regulatory approvals are not cited as outstanding, and the release identifies the private equity strategy outside the agreement, which limits scope.

Watch near-term metrics that will show execution: combined AUM growth and private credit fund inflows, realized portfolio performance versus underwriting targets, and any disclosures around fees or capital commitments within the next 12–24 months. Based strictly on the disclosed facts — size of platform, ownership split, and the company’s stated accretion — this transaction reads as a positive strategic scale move for Manulife's private markets business.

TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC SEHK: 945  

TORONTO, Nov. 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - Manulife Financial Corporation (TSX: MFC), through its more than US$900 billion Global Wealth & Asset Management ("Global WAM") segment, announced today that it has closed the previously announced transaction to acquire 75%¹ of Comvest Credit Partners²  ("Comvest"), creating a leading private credit asset management platform. 

"We are excited to officially welcome the Comvest team to Manulife," said Manulife President and Chief Executive Officer Phil Witherington. "The transaction scales and enhances our private market platform and is immediately accretive to core EPS, core ROE and core EBITDA margin. The combined platform creates significant opportunity given our global distribution capabilities and I am confident we will drive robust and sustainable growth." 

The new private credit platform — Manulife | Comvest Credit Partners — will be built on the continuity of Comvest's proven leadership and Manulife's global scale. The platform will provide creative and flexible private credit solutions to both sponsored and non sponsored companies. Alongside Manulife Investment Management's private equity program and global distribution network, the platform will combine deep origination channels, rigorous underwriting discipline, and long-term stability that will seek to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns across market cycles. 

For more information on the transaction, please see the news release and slides from our August 6, 2025, announcement. 

Media Inquiries	Investor Relations
Jeff Cathie	Derek Theobalds
(857) 944-9017	(416) 254-1774
jeffrey_cathie@manulife.com	derek_theobalds@manulife.com

___________

1 Comvest employees will retain a 25% interest in Comvest, providing meaningful alignment; path to full ownership 6 years post closing.

2 Comvest Credit Partners is a fully owned subsidiary of private credit and private equity investment manager Comvest Partners. Comvest Partners' private equity strategy, Comvest Investment Partners, is not included in the agreement.

About Manulife  

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping our customers make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we operate as Manulife across Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, providing financial advice and insurance for individuals, groups and businesses. Through Manulife Wealth & Asset Management, we offer global investment, financial advice, and retirement plan services to individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. At the end of 2024, we had more than 37,000 employees, over 109,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 36 million customers. We trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges, and under '945' in Hong Kong. 

Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulife.com. 

About Manulife Wealth & Asset Management   

As part of Manulife Financial Corporation, Manulife Wealth & Asset Management provides global investment, financial advice, and retirement plan services to 19 million individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Our mission is to make decisions easier and lives better by empowering people today to invest for a better tomorrow. As a committed partner to our clients and as a responsible steward of investor capital, we offer a heritage of risk management, deep expertise across public and private markets, and comprehensive retirement plan services. We seek to provide better investment and impact outcomes and to help people confidently save and invest for a more secure financial future. 

Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulifeim.com.

CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:  

This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbour" provisions of Canadian provincial securities laws and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 including with respect to the expected benefits of the transaction and the combined Manulife | Comvest Credit Partners platform. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements.  

Certain material factors or assumptions are applied in making forward-looking statements and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include but are not limited to the anticipated benefits from the transaction, the performance of the combined Manulife | Comvest Credit Partners platform and changes in general economic and market conditions, laws and regulations. 

Additional information about material risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations may be found in our most recent annual and interim reports and elsewhere in our filings with Canadian and U.S. securities regulators. The forward-looking statements in this document are, unless otherwise indicated, stated as of the date hereof. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law. 

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SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation

FAQ

What did Manulife (MFC) announce on Nov 3, 2025 regarding Comvest Credit Partners?

Manulife announced it closed the acquisition of a 75% stake in Comvest Credit Partners and launched the Manulife | Comvest Credit Partners platform.

How much of Comvest does Manulife (MFC) now own after the Nov 3, 2025 closing?

Manulife owns 75% of Comvest Credit Partners; Comvest employees retain 25%.

Will the Comvest acquisition affect Manulife's earnings per share (EPS)?

Manulife said the transaction is immediately accretive to core EPS, core ROE and core EBITDA margin.

What is the timeline to full ownership of Comvest by Manulife (MFC)?

There is a stated path to full ownership six years post closing.

How does the Comvest deal fit into Manulife's asset base?

The acquisition expands private credit within Manulife's Global WAM, which manages over US$900 billion in assets.

What risks did Manulife (MFC) highlight about the Comvest acquisition on Nov 3, 2025?

Manulife cautioned that forward-looking benefits are subject to risks and uncertainties and actual results may differ materially.