J.P. Morgan Asset Management agreed to acquire Portland, Ore.-based timberland and natural resource manager Campbell Global from BrightSphere Investment Group, according to news releases Monday.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
JPMAM will acquire BrightSphere's 75% ownership interest in Campbell Global, and the 25% ownership interest in held by Campbell management.
Campbell, which manages $5.3 billion in assets and has more than 150 employees, is to keep its name, brand, leadership and Portland office. The acquisition marks JPMAM's foray into timberland investment.
"This acquisition expands our alternatives offering and demonstrates our desire to integrate sustainability into our business in a way that's meaningful," said George Gatch, CEO of JPMAM, in a news release.
Anton Pil, global head of J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives, added in the release: "Acquiring Campbell Global provides us with an opportunity to strengthen and diversify our ESG focus, including building a robust carbon sequestration platform. Timber investing enhances our asset class offerings in our alternatives business."
The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.
Campbell Global is the sixth boutique manager that BrightSphere has sold in the past 12 months. In May, Sydney-based multiboutique manager Pendal Group agreed to acquire Richmond, Va.-based value equity manager Thompson, Siegel & Walmsley from BrightSphere.
In March, BrightSphere announced plans to sell its Landmark Partners affiliate to Ares Management Corp. for roughly $1.1 billion, and in February agreed to sell its Investment Counselors of Maryland unit to William Blair Investment Management.
In July, BrightSphere said it would sell two affiliate managers: the Dallas-based value equity manager Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss to Sydney-based Perpetual for $335 million, and Boston-based growth equity manager Copper Rock Capital Partners to the firm's executives and Bryn Mawr, Pa.-based Spouting Rock Asset Management.
The divestitures leave the Boston-based quant manager Acadian Asset Management as BrightSphere's sole affiliate manager.
"This transaction decidedly transforms our business from a multiboutique asset manager to Acadian, a single, full-scale differentiated business," BrightSphere President and CEO Suren Rana said in a separate release. "After the completion of the sale of Campbell Global and the other announced sale transactions in the coming months, BrightSphere's sole business will be Acadian."
