iM Global Buys Stake in European Equities Manager

iM Global Partner, an investment firm that buys stakes in traditional and alternative asset managers, has agreed to purchase a minority interest in Zadig Asset Management.

The firm said Wednesday that it will own a 20 percent stake in Zadig, which oversees $1.8 billion of assets, pending regulatory approval. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

The acquisition will give iM Global its first stake in a European equities investment firm, bringing the total number of asset managers in its multi-boutique business to six, according to the statement. London-based Zadig will operate independently, staying focused on concentrated stock picking as it seeks to expand.

“We will pursue our growth path by extending our range of products with the addition of new talents,” Zadig’s founder, Laurent Saglio, said in the statement. “This expansion will be true to our investment philosophy: active and concentrated stock picking to generate alpha in all market conditions.”

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Founded in 2005, Zadig has 15 employees in London and Luxembourg. Saglio, whom iM Global described as a “serial entrepreneur in the asset management sector,” had previously started the Voltaire fund, according to the statement. Vincent Bourgeois, “another successful European equity long-short manager,” joined Zadig in 2011, iM Global said.

Zadig has created a range of UCITS funds, starting with Memnon European Equity, a long-only fund that holds 25 mid-to-large cap European companies, according to the statement. In 2016, Zadig launched Memnon Market Neutral, a fund that uses the same investment philosophy as the Voltaire and Zadig funds and aims for little or no correlation to the European equity market.

iM Global will help with distribution while providing business support, according to Saglio. “This is what we need to keep growing for the benefit of all Zadig’s historical stakeholders,” he said.