Amundi acquires Pioneer Investments for €3.54bn
Amundi is to pay €3.54bn (£2.97bn, $3.74bn) in cash to acquire Pioneer Investments, which it says will make it the eighth largest asset manager in the world.
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Amundi is to pay €3.54bn (£2.97bn, $3.74bn) in cash to acquire Pioneer Investments, which it says will make it the eighth largest asset manager in the world.
The ink is not dry and already commentators are hailing the merger of Henderson Global Investors and Janus Capital as an example of what is to come.
London-headquartered independent fund manager Henderson Group is to merge with US fund manager Janus Capital, creating a combined operation with $320bn assets under management and a market capitalisation of approximately $6bn.
GAM, the acquisitive Swiss asset manager, has made another move. It announced today it bought the UK-based multi-strategy systematic manager Cantab Capital Partners for $217m (€195m).
Further asset management consolidation is on the horizon but the line between predator and prey is increasingly blurred Numis said in a note on Friday.
The number of M&A deals completed in 2015 excelled with record returns for acquirers, according to Willis Towers Watson’s Quarterly Deal Performance Monitor (QDPM).
The record number of mergers and acquisition deals announced in 2015 hasn’t led to a sustained interest in merger arbitrage funds. Ucits-regulated M&A funds fell out of grace in the final months of the year, as they significantly underperformed their offshore peers.
Cédric de Fonclare, manager of the Jupiter European Opportunities Fund, explains in this video interview why he looks with suspicion at the recent wave of M&A.
As markets digest the news that AB InBev has agreed a deal to buy SABMiller for some £68bn, investors would be wise to consider what these kind of blockbuster deals may signify for markets.