Entwistle & Cappucci LLP and Saxena White P.A. File a Securities Class Action Complaint Against Focus Financial Partners Inc.

Entwistle & Cappucci LLP (“Entwistle & Cappucci”) and Saxena White P.A. (“Saxena White”) today announced that their ongoing investigation has led to the filing of a class action complaint against Focus Financial Partners Inc. (“Focus Financial,” “Focus” or the “Company”) and certain of the Company’s officers and directors (collectively, “Defendants”) on behalf of a class (the “Class”) consisting of (1) all persons or entities that sold shares of Focus Financial common stock (NASDAQ: FOCS) from February 27, 2023 through the closing of the “take-private” acquisition of Focus Financial by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, LLC (“CD&R”) on August 31, 2023 (the “Merger”), including investors who sold their shares of Focus Financial common stock into the Merger, and (2) all persons or entities that held Focus Financial common stock on the June 9, 2023 record date for the Merger who were entitled to vote on the Merger.

The case was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (the “Court”) and is captioned: AltShares Event-Driven ETF v. Focus Financial Partners, Inc., No. 1:23-cv-01466-MN (D. Del.) (the “Action”). The complaint asserts claims under Sections 10(b), 14(a) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Rules 10b-5 and 14a-9 promulgated thereunder.

Focus Financial holds ownership interests in independent fiduciary wealth management firms providing investment and financial services to high and ultra-high net worth individuals and families. Prior to the Merger, private equity firm Stone Point Capital LLC (“Stone Point”) held approximately 20.6% of Focus Financial’s voting power and appointed two members to the Company’s board of directors (the “Board”).

The complaint alleges Defendants materially misrepresented the sale process leading up to the Merger by, among other things, omitting that they failed to adequately solicit potential strategic acquirors for Focus Financial. Contrary to Defendants’ public statements concerning the Merger, including in the definitive shareholder proxy statement filed on June 12, 2023, the sale process allegedly was not “thorough” because strategic buyers were not adequately canvassed by Defendants, the one strategic buyer that broke through was denied critical due diligence and its higher-priced merger proposal was rejected. As alleged in the complaint, Stone Point preferred a transaction with CD&R, as opposed to the strategic acquiror that was prepared to offer more to Focus shareholders, given Stone Point’s interest in obtaining a more lucrative equity rollover into a private equity firm.