The parent company of Ark Investment Management, Ark Invest, has acquired specialist ETF issuer Rize ETF from AssetCo for an upfront payment of £2.625m.
As well as a deferred payment of £2.625m and an earn out provision, capped at £5.25m, which will operate over five years and is subject to a minimum, itself dependent upon certain conditions.
Rize ETF, which was founded in 2019, will be renamed Ark Invest Europe as part of the transaction, and will be positioned as a separate arm of Ark Invest.
The firm’s purchase from UK asset management firm AssetCo, which first bought a 70% stake in the company in 2021, marks the start of Ark’s bid to expand into Europe and the UK.
It will add approximately $452m (£365.8m, €422m) in assets under management to Ark’s $25bn (£20.2bn).
AssetCo will partner with Ark and the new Invest Europe platform to launch several ETFs for River & Mercantile – the active equity management subsidiary of AssetCo.
All 11 Rize ETFs will remain available to investors, according to Ark.
Cathie Wood, CEO, CIO and founder of Ark Invest, said: “Today’s acquisition advances Ark Invest’s commitment to offer high-quality thematic investment solutions to a global investor audience, particularly European investors who have not been able to access our products.
“We believe that the European ETF market presents a strong growth opportunity as new and younger investors continue to gain access to ETFs via the growth of digital platforms, and as active ETFs increase market share by meeting the demand for innovative investment exposures.
“We are delighted to welcome the talented Rize ETF team into the Ark family. By merging its passion for thematic and sustainable index investing with Ark’s innovative actively managed approach centred on disruptive innovation, we can offer our clients a more diverse array of investment options to invest in the future.”
Co-founder Forbes said: “The acquisition offers Ark an entry into the European ETF market, capitalising on our expertise and track record in building multiple European ETF businesses.
“Leveraging Ark’s global network and our expertise in European distribution, we aim to strengthen our collective global presence. This initiative signifies not just business growth, but a collaborative exchange of global asset management best practices, insights, and tactics.”
Dublin-domiciled Rize ETF was first founded by Anthony Martin, Jason Kennard, Rahul Bushan and Stuart Forbes in 2019. The group has previously founded ETF Securities and sold it to WisdomTree, and built the European ETF business for Legal & General.
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