Salient Partners announced Wednesday that it will acquire Forward Management, creating a company with combined assets of $27.6 billion.
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter, pending approval by shareholders of Forward Management's mutual fund family and other negotiations. Terms of the deal are not being disclosed, said Lee Partridge, managing director and chief investment officer of Salient, via an e-mail message forwarded by company spokeswoman Catherine Jones.
Gordon Getty, Forward Management's 81-year-old principal shareholder, has been looking for a partner to buy the firm for some time and decided to go with Salient because the deal will provide continuity for Forward's investment processes and will provide Forward an opportunity to its institutional business, said Jerome Alan Reid, Forward's director and CEO, in an e-mail message forwarded by Ms. Jones.
As of Dec. 31, Salient's assets under management and advisement totaled $21.6 billion and Forward Management's was $6 billion. About 60% of Salient's assets are from institutional investors, while 19% of Forward's assets come from institutions.
Once the deal is completed, Forward Management will operate under the Salient name, but its investment processes and operations will not change. Forward's employees will continue to work from the firm's San Francisco office; Salient will maintain its offices in Houston and New York.
Certain executives of both companies will continue in their current roles after the acquisition. From Salient, John Blaisdell will retain the roles of chairman and CEO, and Mr. Partridge, will oversee all investment strategies. Robert S. Naka, chief operating officer of Forward Management, will continue in that role for the combined entity.
Mr. Reid, Forward Management's CEO, will serve as a consultant to Salient during the transition period after the deal, he said in his e-mail.
The firms' mutual fund families will be combined, managing a total of $10 billion in strategies including global asset allocation, risk parity, master limited partnerships, real estate investment trusts, infrastructure, equity, fixed income and credit.
Both firms will continue to manage separate accounts and private funds.
