Henderson in talks to buy RidgeWorth
FUND manager Henderson is back on the acquisition trail, confirming yesterday that it is in talks to buy up parts of US-based RidgeWorth Capital Management just a year after snapping up beleaguered rival New Star in the UK.
Henderson is likely to pay close to $300m (£194.9m) for a chunk of RidgeWorth, part of US bank holding company SunTrust Banks.
The firm is thought to be interested in adding around $36bn of RidgeWorth’s assets under management to its own $58.1bn pool. RidgeWorth currently oversees roughly $65bn of client assets.
Henderson stressed that its discussions with SunTrust are ongoing and said there is no certainty that a deal will be struck.
The news comes a year after Henderson acquired New Star, the fund manager set up by industry veteran John Duffield, for £107m. The group dropped the New Star name officially last month, saying that the moniker remained “tarnished” by its troubles prior to the acquisition.
Chief executive Andrew Formica told City A.M. last week that he is on the lookout for more acquisitions in the US, Europe and Asia to bolster the business, adding: “There is no reason why this group can’t become one of the top ten fund managers in the world.”