Brookfield buys 62 per cent of Oaktree Capital in $4.7bn deal

Canadian firm Brookfield Asset Management has agreed to buy 62 per cent of US alternative asset management company Oaktree Capital for an estimated $4.7bn (£3.56bn).

The combined companies will have around $475bn of assets under management and $2.5bn of annual fee related revenue, creating one of the world’s biggest alternative asset managers.

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Both firms will continue to operate independently under their current brands and will be led by their existing management and investment teams.

Bruce Flatt, chief executive of Brookfield, said: “As we continue to strategically grow Brookfield, we are thrilled to be partnering with Oaktree and which its exceptional management team whose credit business is second to none.

“This transaction enables us to broaden our product offering to include one of the finest credit platforms in the world, which has a value-driven, contrarian investment style, consistent with ours.”

Brookfield will acquire Oaktree's class A shares for either $49 per share or 1.077 in its own shares. 

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Oaktree co-chairman Howard Marks said: “The opportunity to join forces with Brookfield is ideal.

“Our firms share a culture that emphasises both investing excellence and integrity, and our businesses mesh without overlapping or conflicting.”