Amundi will take an 87.5% stake in the Dublin-headquartered asset manager, while KBI management will take on the remaining 12.5%.
KBI is a subsidiary of BHF Kleinwort Benson Group which Oddo & Cie bought earlier this year.
Under the terms of the deal KBI will retain its distribution, operating and portfolio management autonomy, with Sean Hawkshaw continuing as chief executive and Noel O’Halloran as chief investment officer.
And, KBI said, all employees are expected to remain with the firm.
“In parallel with this transaction, Amundi and Oddo & Cie will strengthen their cooperation, namely via the cross selling of their investment expertise.”
Hawkshaw said: ‘’We believe that the combination of Amundi as a majority shareholder and a meaningful stake held by key employees offers an ideal ownership structure to continue to develop the firm while allowing us to deliver the best possible investment returns and service for our clients globally.’’
Mutually beneficial
According to the firm, the deal will be mutually beneficial, as the two firms have complementary product offerings and geographical footprints.
Amundi stands to benefit from KBI’s strong presence in North America from where it now generates 52% of its assets under management (Ireland and UK together make up 26%, continental Europe 14% and Asia 8%).
KBI on the other hand will be able to leverage off of Amundi’s institutional and retail presence in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Amundi chief executive, Yves Perrier, said the acquisition is perfectly in line with Amundi’s current strategy and will “strengthen our offer with a complementary and well-performing equity expertise, which will benefit our clients in Europe, Asia and the Middle-East”.
In 2015 KBI posted net revenues of €31m (£24m, $34.8m) and a net income of €9m and at the end of March 2016, had €7.6bn in AUM.
Immediately accretive
According to the firm, the deal is expected to close in the third quarter of the year. It will be immediately accretive to Amundi’s earnings per share figure and will meet its internal target of an expected return on investment above 10% within three years.
“In parallel with this transaction, Amundi and Oddo & Cie will strengthen their cooperation, namely via the cross selling of their investment expertise,” the firm said.
