London tie-up: Liontrust acquires Majedie Asset Management for up to £120m
Liontrust Asset Management said this morning that it has agreed to acquire its London peer Majedie Asset Management, in the latest example of a trend of consolidation in the industry.
FTSE 250 boutique firm Liontrust said it will pay an initial £80m for Majedie, plus an additional deferred consideration of up to £40m.
Due for completion next April, the deal will boost Liontrust’s assets under management by £5.8bn to more than £42.3bn, and is part of its strategy to gain scale and market share in the institutional market.
Asset managers and investment houses are increasingly seeking consolidation deals with peers in order to diversify their product ranges and tap into new markets, in order to compete with increasingly popular passive funds.
It comes after Liontrust has scaled through acquisitions, most notably with the acquisition of Neptune Investment Management in 2019, and the UK investment arm of Architas last year.
Majedie is a boutique firm that focuses on equities that, owing to its smaller portfolio of £5.8bn assets under management, has been outlined as ripe for a takeover in the past.
“Given the growing demand from institutional investors for global equity managers, we believe we can expand this client base further for the Majedie investment team, as well as take advantage of Majedie’s institutional expertise,” John Ions, Liontrust Chief Executive said in a statement.
James de Uphaugh will continue to head up Majedie’s fund management team after the merger, and CEO Rob Harris will join Liontrust as Head of Global Institutional Business.
More to follow.