Manulife Financial Corporation has completed its acquisition of a 75% stake in Comvest Credit Partners, strengthening its position in the rapidly growing private credit market.
The transaction, carried out through Manulife’s Global Wealth & Asset Management (Global WAM) division, establishes Manulife | Comvest Credit Partners, a new platform that integrates Manulife’s global investment scale with Comvest’s credit expertise.
The deal marks a strategic expansion of Manulife's alternative investment capabilities at a time when institutional and insurance investors are increasingly allocating capital to private credit to capture yield and diversification benefits. With more than US$900 billion in assets under management within Global WAM, the acquisition enhances the company's private market scale and is expected to be accretive to core earnings per share, return on equity and EBITDA margin.
Manulife president and CEO Phil Witherington said the transaction enhances the company’s private market platform, leveraging Comvest’s proven origination and underwriting capabilities alongside Manulife’s global distribution network. The partnership aims to deliver sustainable growth and strong, risk-adjusted returns across market cycles.
The newly formed platform will target both sponsored and non-sponsored borrowers, offering flexible private credit solutions that align with the needs of institutional clients and Manulife’s own insurance portfolios.
Industry analysts noted that the move reflects a broader trend among global insurers such as Sun Life and Canada Life, which are expanding their exposure to private credit to diversify earnings and strengthen portfolio performance in a high-interest-rate environment.
In a separate announcement, Manulife Canada unveiled a major innovation in health and insurance services, becoming the first Canadian insurer to offer access to GRAIL’s Galleri multi-cancer early detection test through its Manulife Vitality program.
Partnering with Medcan, the official Canadian provider of the Galleri test, the initiative enables eligible life insurance customers to take the test at Medcan’s Toronto and Oakville clinics, supported by clinical teams for pre-test counselling, results review, and follow-up care.
According to Manulife, the initiative expands its efforts to help Canadians live longer, healthier lives by integrating advanced medical technologies into its insurance offerings. Cancer remains the leading cause of death in Canada, with early detection significantly improving survival rates.
Through a single blood draw, the Galleri test can detect over 50 types of cancer before symptoms appear and has been validated through studies involving more than 385,000 participants, the company said.
The offering, available at a reduced cost for Manulife Vitality Plus members aged 50 and over, complements Canada’s existing public screening programs and reflects Manulife’s broader global commitment to proactive health and wellness.
