Brookfield in talks to buy financial crime specialist Actimize for $2bn

The Canadian investment giant Brookfield is closing in on a $2bn deal to buy Actimize, a financial crime and compliance specialist.

Sky News has learnt that Brookfield's financial infrastructure arm, which was set up with the aid of the City grandee Sir Ron Kalifa three years ago, is in exclusive talks to buy Actimize from Nasdaq-listed NICE.

Sources cautioned that a deal had yet to be finalised and could yet fall apart.

Money latest: Is your profession a wage winner or loser?

If completed, the transaction would deepen Toronto-based Brookfield's push into financial infrastructure assets.

The investment group acquired a stake in Barclays' merchant acquiring arm last year, in a deal that will see it increase its interest over time.

The financial infrastructure strategy sits within Brookfield's private equity business - part of a sprawling conglomerate which has seen it become one of the world's most important financial institutions.

Actimize was put up for sale by NICE earlier this year, and was reported to have drawn interest from private equity firms including Advent International and New Mountain Capital.

More from Sky News:
Could slowing AI trigger a financial crisis?
Problems AI was solving 12 years ago - and why researchers are so spooked

The auction process comes after a frenzy of bets that AI will decimate the enterprise software industry, a conviction that many investors believe is overblown.

NICE bought Actimize in 2007 for $280m, with the business now focused on developing AI-driven fraud prevention and anti-money laundering products targeted at financial institutions around the world.

Brookfield declined to comment on Wednesday morning.

(c) Sky News 2026: Brookfield in talks to buy financial crime specialist Actimize for $2bn