Macquarie Buys Value-Investing Specialist

Active equities manager ValueInvest is now under the Macquarie umbrella, as small asset managers look to M&A to cope with increasing competition and margin pressure.

Nicholas Moore, CEO and managing director of Macquarie Group (Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg)

Nicholas Moore, CEO and managing director of Macquarie Group

(Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg)

Macquarie Investment Management closed on its acquisition of Luxembourg-based ValueInvest Asset Management, a deal that builds out its capabilities abroad.

Macquarie announced the closing Friday, but did not disclosed terms.

The deal comes as many small and mid-sized asset managers look to mergers and buyouts to cope with increasing competition and a need for more distribution channels.

According to Ben Bruck, head of Macquarie Investment Management, the deal does just that.

“We are pleased to extend our investment capabilities in global equities — a large and increasingly important asset class sought after by clients,” he said in a statement. “The team’s long-term, high-conviction, value-oriented investment approach is grounded in fundamental research, and we anticipate that they will be a great fit with the Macquarie investment culture and with our global client base.”

ValueInvest had roughly €3.7 billion ($4.88 billion) in assets under management as of March 31, according to the announcement. The company was founded in 1998 and focused specifically on value investing.

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Macquarie, meanwhile, manages €69.7 billion in equities, according to the announcement.

“We were attracted by Macquarie’s breadth and resources as a leading global asset management company which will enable us to better serve our clients,” said Jesper Alsing, ValueInvest’s chief executive officer, in a statement released in March when the deal was initially announced.

Macquarie already has offices in Luxembourg, according to ValueInvest’s statement.

“This acquisition reflects the business’s continued commitment to the country, in addition to its strategy to expand its global equities capabilities and distribution reach across Europe,” the parent firm said.

A spokesperson for the organizations declined to further comment on the deal.

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