The acquisition, made through Manulife’s Global Wealth and Asset Management segment—managing more than US$900 billion in assets—positions the firm as a leading force in private credit.

As part of the transaction, Manulife will align its existing $3.7 billion Senior Credit team with Comvest’s $14.7 billion platform, forming a combined $18.4 billion private credit asset management business. The new platform will be co-branded as Manulife | Comvest.

“This partnership is an important step forward for Comvest and will meaningfully strengthen our market position,” said Robert O’Sullivan, CEO of Comvest Credit Partners. “From the outset, the synergies between Comvest and Manulife have been clear. We share a disciplined approach to credit, a client-first mindset, and a strong focus on team culture. Manulife’s deep relationships with private equity sponsors, robust sourcing capabilities, financial strength, and broad distribution platform will help us scale our differentiated private credit strategy and unlock new opportunities.”

The agreement also includes a performance-based earn-out of up to $337.5 million and provides Manulife the right to acquire the remaining 25% of Comvest through a put/call mechanism.

Comvest’s focus on non-sponsor backed middle market direct lending complements Manulife’s expertise in sponsor-backed private credit. By combining forces, the firms aim to deliver a more diversified and scalable offering across the private credit spectrum.

“With a continued focus on disciplined, strategic capital deployment, our acquisition of Comvest Credit Partners further enhances our private markets platform by adding differentiated capabilities in private credit,” said Phil Witherington, President and CEO of Manulife. “The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to core EPS, core ROE and core EBITDA margin, and it will contribute to the strong growth trajectory of our broader Global Wealth and Asset Management business.”

Manulife has been strategically expanding its private markets capabilities. Last year, the company acquired credit-focused asset manager CQS. The addition of Comvest reinforces this momentum, particularly in the evolving private credit landscape.

“We are excited to see the continued growth and maturity of private credit as an asset class, providing flexible, tailored financing to businesses that are underserved by traditional lenders, while offering investors attractive, risk-adjusted returns,” said Paul Lorentz, President & CEO of Manulife Wealth and Asset Management. “This acquisition, coupled with our acquisition last year of CQS, demonstrates our commitment to thoughtfully grow our business and offer a broader range of investment solutions to our institutional, retail, and retirement clients.”

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.