Invesco will buy a 49% stake in Religare Asset Management, a Mumbai, India-based money manager with more than $2.6 billion in assets under management, according to a joint announcement by both firms Thursday.
Terms of the deal, which is expected to be completed within three to six months pending regulatory approvals, weren't revealed.
Religare Asset Management will be renamed Religare Invesco Asset Management, confirmed Invesco spokesman Bill Hensel.
Religare Asset Management is the domestic money management arm of financial services firm Religare Enterprises in India. The group has a separate international arm, Religare Global Asset Management, which bought a majority stake in private equity and venture capital firm Northgate Capital in early 2010.
Currently, Invesco's only money management presence in India is through its private equity affiliate, WL Ross & Co.
In a telephone interview, Andrew Lo, the Hong Kong-based senior management director with Invesco who heads the firm's Asia-Pacific operations, said the tie-up with Religare will help Invesco expand its product offerings to institutional and retail investors.
Mr. Lo said Invesco has been impressed by the firm's lineup of India-focused actively managed equity and fixed-income strategies. The joint venture could pursue offshore funds and dedicated funds in different markets, while the continued growth of the Indian economy could lead to growing interest by institutional investors abroad in separate account mandates as well, he added.
Neither Martin L. Flanagan, Invesco's president and CEO, nor Saurabh Nanavati, CEO of Religare Asset Management, could be reached immediately for further comment.
Mr. Nanavati and his management team will head up the joint venture, according to the joint announcement.
