Liontrust assets to swell by £2.3bn after buying Alliance Trust Investments
Fund manager Liontrust has agreed to swallow-up Alliance Trust Investments (ATI) in a deal that will swell its assets under management by over a third.
The takeover, expected to be completed in 2017, means Liontrust's portfolios will increase from £5.6bn to over £8.0bn.
ATI is one arm of three parts of the wider Alliance financial group – the other two being a savings company and its mammoth investment trust parent, somewhat confusing called Alliance Trust plc.
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Liontrust will pay to up £30m – which includes a £3m earn-out – in a part cash/part shares deal to bring ATI and its investment mandates under its control.
ATI is currently one of several fund managers who look after some of the investments in Alliance Trust plc. Once today's transaction is completed ATI's mandate will be dropped by the investment trust.
Chief exec of Liontrust John Ions was roaring at the news of the deal, especially given ATI's track record as a sustainable investor.
"The investment managers will be an excellent addition to our seven teams as they are very experienced, have a clear and robust investment process and have shown that sustainable investment can provide strong investment returns as well as meeting investors’ values," he said.
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Parent Alliance Trust plc referred to the deal as part of a series of strategic changes focussing on simplifying its investment structure.
Instead of using multiple fund managers across asset classes it will use one "best in class" manager across each class.
"We are confident that this exciting and differentiated investment approach will help to improve Alliance Trust’s performance on a consistent basis," said Lord Smith of Kelvin, chairman of Alliance Trust Plc.