Highbridge Capital Management, J.P. Morgan Chase's hedge fund business, agreed to acquire a majority stake in Brazil's Gavea Investimentos.
Terms were not disclosed.
The deal is expected to be completed “shortly,” according to a joint new release from the two companies.
The addition of Gavea's $6 billion of assets managed in hedge funds and private equity funds will swell Highbridge's assets to $28 billion, according to the release.
Similarly to Highbridge's relationship with J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Gavea will continue to operate independently with regard to its investment strategies and day-to-day operations, according to the release. Arminio Fraga, Gavea's chairman and chief investment officer, and Luiz Fraga, co-founder and co-chief investment officer of private equity, will take seats on Highbridge's board and executive committee. Arminio Fraga also will join the Highbridge Investment Committee.
“This has been a long courtship of one of the finest global macroeconomic hedge fund managers in the world,” Mary Callahan Erdoes, CEO of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, said in the release.
“Gavea will provide Highbridge with greater macroeconomic insight and direct exposure to investing in Brazil,” Glenn Dubin, Highbridge's CEO, said in the release.
Gavea was founded in 2003. A former fund manager for George Soros, Arminio Fragas has been in talks with J.P. Morgan Chase since at least February, a person with knowledge of the negotiations said at the time.
Senior Reporter Christine Williamson contributed to this story.
