Jupiter manages mutual funds, segregated mandates and investment trusts for individuals and institutions
Jupiter agrees to acquire Merian Global Investors. (Credit: Capri23auto/Pixabay.)
UK-based Jupiter Fund Management has agreed to acquire Merian Global Investors, an independent asset management firm, for a total consideration of up to £390m ($508m).
Under the deal, Jupiter will pay an equity consideration of £370m, by issuing 95,360,825 of its new shares to Merian shareholders, and pay up to £20m as an additional deferred earn-out, to certain Merian Management Shareholders.
Jupiter chief executive Andrew Formica said: “This is an exciting acquisition that enhances our position as a leading UK asset manager, provides increased scale and diversification into attractive product areas, and creates stronger future growth prospects for the business. It is also consistent with our strategic priorities, adding strong investment talent with a similar culture and investment philosophy.
“With this acquisition, our business will benefit from an increased capacity to attract, develop and retain high quality talent, backed by further investment in our platform and technology. In turn, we will be able to offer a wider choice of strongly performing active investment strategies to our clients, while shareholders will benefit from a highly earnings accretive deal delivered through substantial cost synergies.”
Jupiter is an independent asset management business that manages mutual funds, segregated mandates and investment trusts for individuals and institutions. It has around £42.8bn of assets under management, as of December 2019.
The company said that the transaction would enhance its investment capability in the UK, through the additional investment and market capitalisation range
In addition, it would strengthen the company’s position as asset manager and enhance its core UK franchise by widening its capabilities and retail distribution presence in the UK.
The closing of the transaction is subject to fulfilment of certain closing conditions
Merian is an independent asset management firm that offers products for wholesale, retail and institutional investors in the UK, EMEA, the Americas and Asia.
The company is said to have investment expertise across almost all major asset classes, in addition to its capabilities in fixed income, European equities, global emerging market equities, alternatives and global asset allocation.
Merian chief executive Mark Gregory said: “Jupiter is a great strategic and cultural fit with our business. It has a market leading brand with a clear focus on high conviction, active asset management which is entirely consistent with our own. I believe the enlarged business will be more strongly positioned to offer greater choice and investment performance to clients and continue to meet clients’ ever-evolving needs.”