Thames River brand to stay if F&C deal goes ahead
Share
Hollands: ‘Keep all the good people’
F&C Asset Management says the Thames River Capital brand will remain if its acquisition of the firm goes ahead.
The deal, which is worth up to £53.6m, should be completed by the end of the third quarter if it is approved by shareholders.
F&C will acquire an economic interest in the management and performance fee profits generated by the Thames River investment teams, with the economic interest set to increase over time.
F&C has also agreed retention and incentive plans of up to £35m for Thames River’s key personnel.
F&C head of corporate affairs Jason Hollands says: “Our intention is to keep all the good people. Thames River will operate autonomously within the F&C group. There will no interference in their investment style, it will continue to be run by chief executive Charlie Porter and they will continue to be based in Berkeley Square.”
The one area of obvious overlap in the group’s fund ranges is their multi-manager offerings. Last week, it was confirmed that Thames River’s Gary Potter and Robert Burdett will run the combined retail franchise, with F&C head of multi-manager Dean Cheeseman running the institutional and lifestyle funds.
Hollands says: “There will be no impact on what Rob and Gary do. While it is far too early to talk about fund changes, we do not expect there to be lots of mergers because we do things differently.”
The acquisition will exclude Nevsky Capital, which will demerge from Thames River Capital prior to the completion of the deal and will be directly held by the current Thames River shareholders.
Thames River investment director Michael Warren says: “The retail multi-manager range will be merged at some stage and it will sit under the Thames River banner. As for the two European teams, we expect them to run together, given that what they offer is completely different.”
Thames River founder Charlie Porter is set to buy £1m worth of shares in F&C Asset Management after F&C’s deal.
Porter says: “We think that a combination of F&C and Thames River Capital will create one of the most dynamic asset management firms in London, bringing together the history, strength and reach of F&C with all of those attributes of modern asset management that are embedded in Thames River Capital.”
If you enjoyed this article, sign up here to receive daily email updates from Money Marketing and Follow @_moneymarketing
