Mariner Investment Group signed a definitive agreement to acquire Concordia Advisors and intends to merge the companies, said Bracebridge Young, Mariner's CEO.
Both firms are in the hedge fund business: Mariner manages $10.2 billion in hedge funds, hedge funds of funds and other alternative investment strategies. Concordia is a multistrategy hedge fund manager with a focus on long/short equity and fixed-income arbitrage with $1 billion under management.
Mr. Young said Concordia's 18 investment professionals will become Mariner employees, based in New York or London. He added that an undetermined number of non-investment personnel will not join Mariner because Concordia's business operations, including trading and back-office operations, will be transferred to Mariner.
“We decided to merge the two firms to achieve economies of scale,” Mr. Young said, adding that the addition of Concordia's “extraordinary trading teams, risk management and experience” will strengthen Mariner's investment activities.
Basil Williams, Concordia's CEO and portfolio manager of its multistrategy hedge funds, will retain management of the funds and assume the newly created role of deputy chief investment officer. He also will serve on Mariner's investment and management committees.
Mr. Young said he anticipates that the deal will close and Concordia's hedge funds will transfer to Mariner's operating platform before the end of the first quarter. He declined to disclose terms of the deal.
