Leading Dutch financial group ABN Amro is acquiring US-based Alleghany Asset Management, for $825m (e981m) in cash. The agreement will increase the bank’s global assets under management by 40% to $155bn.
Alleghany has $45bn assets and is a subsidiary of Alleghany Corporation. The acquisition will give ABN Amro, which already have three US subsidiaries LaSalle, Standard Federal, and European American Banks, access to over 550 North American institutional clients.
This move is part of the active consolidation process currently taking place in the fund management industry. Another European group, Allianz has announced the acquisition of an US company. The German house is buying San Diego-based Nicholas-Applegate which has around $45bn assets under management.
In the UK, Abeerden has agreed to acquire Glasgow-based firm Murray Johnstone from Old Mutual, to create the Scotland’s largest independent . The transaction involves a payment of approximately £150m. The acquisition will increase Abeerden’s funds under management by over 17% from around £23bn to over £27bn The enlarged group will be ranked fourth in the UK investment trust market and the acceleration of Abeerden’s aspirations to develop an international database.
Targeting the same market AMVESCAP, which has assets of $414bn and operates under the AIM and Invesco brand names, will be acquiring UK-based Perpetual. Following the transaction, AMVESCAP will be the second provider of UK unit trusts and will have assets of
around $432bn.
Also, Indocam, the asset management arm of the Crédit Agricole group, is buying London-based investment management company Premium Management to increase its presence in the UK market. Premium has around £800m under management and specialises in fund management for the insurance business.