Liontrust Asset Management shareholders have backed the proposed £96m ($123m, €112m) takeover of Swiss asset manager GAM.
At a general meeting on 7 July, 84% voted in favour of the acquisition.
John Ions, chief executive of Liontrust, said: “We have made a good and fair offer for GAM and believe it is in the best interests of the shareholders of both companies, as well as clients and employees, by providing a great platform for growth along with corporate and financial stability for GAM. The senior investment managers at GAM have previously publicly stated they support the Liontrust acquisition and now we have the declared support of Liontrust shareholders. We thank both for their confidence in us and the proposed acquisition.”
The announcement follows GAM’s agreement to sell its third-party fund management services to Carne Group, which satisfied one of the requirements of the offer.
Despite being backed by the Swiss asset manager’s board and senior portfolio managers, the proposed takeover has come under opposition from investor group NewGAMe and Bruellan, who own roughly 9% of GAM.
When the offer was first announced, the investor group said the offer was unfair for GAM shareholders and “needlessly” favoured the bidder. They also raised concerns over the proposed offer’s consistency with Swiss takeover law.
In May, senior GAM portfolio managers penned a letter voicing “strong support” for the acquisition, stating the deal is “highly credible”.
The firm published the deal prospectus in June, which confirmed details such as the exchange ratio of 0.0589 Liontrust shares for each GAM share. It also set out a timetable for the offer of 28 June to 25 July.
David Jacob, chair of GAM said: “I am delighted that Liontrust shareholders strongly support the offer. The GAM board unanimously recommends the offer which was made after extensive due diligence by a highly regarded peer with a heritage in fund management.
“The enlarged business will have a strong balance sheet, a broader array of excellent investment products, a global distribution footprint and the capability to deliver synergies and growth, in which GAM shareholders can participate in the future. The Liontrust offer is also strongly supported by the senior portfolio managers of GAM, who believe that it is in the best interests of our clients.”
