Liontrust has announced that it has agreed to acquire Majedie. The deal is worth up to £120m. This firstly includes an initial consideration of £80m, and up to £40m for excess NAV and deferred consideration.
The transaction will increase Liontrust’s pro forma assets under management by £5.8 billion to over £42.3 billion. As part of the deal, Majedie will rebrand as Liontrust, with the management team to become Liontrust Global Fundamental team. Meanwhile, Majedie’s chairman and chief investment officer, James de Uphaugh, will continue to lead the team.
Liontrust’s share price has risen since the announcement of the deal.
John Ions, Chief Executive of Liontrust, said:
“Majedie is an important acquisition for Liontrust because of its strong presence and reputation in the institutional market. Liontrust has been increasing our number of institutional clients and the purchase of Majedie will hasten this expansion by enhancing our investment capability and client service credentials.
“We are very happy with the quality of the Majedie investment team. They are an experienced team with a robust investment process that is reflected in their excellent long-term performance. For example, the quality of Majedie’s institutional mandates and their appointment by The Edinburgh Investment Trust in 2020.
“Majedie has strong client relationships that have been built up over many years and an impressive quality of client service that will reinforce our own. Given the growing demand from institutional investors for global equity managers, we believe we can expand this client base further for the Majedie investment team, as well as take advantage of Majedie’s institutional expertise.”
Rob Harris, Chief Executive Officer of Majedie, said:
“This is an exciting day for everyone at Majedie and for our clients. We have worked hard to build an enviable performance track record spanning almost 20 years, and the acquisition by Liontrust provides a compelling strategic and cultural fit, with a deeply ingrained focus by both firms on rigorous investment processes, a commitment to responsible capitalism and first-class client service.
“Our strength in the institutional market, combined with Liontrust’s impressive sales and marketing capabilities, will enhance distribution for our investment team and offer a resilient, long-term proposition for our clients. Together, we will offer a fully resourced, best of breed fund management capability which is true to our heritage and ready to embrace the future with its myriad challenges and opportunities.
“It was very important that our existing clients would be unaffected through the management of their investments and the service they receive. This is being delivered, with no changes to the Majedie investment team who will continue managing accounts and funds to the same investment process as before the acquisition.
“We thank all of our clients for their support and confidence in Majedie over the past two decades. We are now focused on ensuring there is a seamless transition to Liontrust over the next few months and a strong foundation from which to continue to deliver for clients over the years ahead.”
Mr Uphaugh said:
“Since Majedie launched almost 20 years ago, it’s been an absolute privilege to invest on behalf of our clients and we’re proud to have notched up some excellent performance. But investing is all about looking to the future, and our coming together with Liontrust means putting ourselves on the strongest footing to continue unearthing money-making ideas for clients.
“The consistency of our flexible investment process, our responsible capitalism signature and culture of alignment combined with the wider resources of Liontrust makes me confident that we will continue to deliver a compelling value proposition for all our clients for years to come.”
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