KKR & Co. will acquire a 24.9% ownership stake in long/short equity hedge fund manager Marshall Wace, with the possibility of increasing its ownership interest to 39.9%.
Specifics of the deal — which will include a combination of cash and KKR shares — are not being disclosed, said Kristi Huller, a KKR spokeswoman. The deal is expected to close before the end of the year, pending regulatory approval.
Marshall Wace will continue to operate independently under its own name. All of the firm’s capital partners have signed long-term agreements and “the vast majority of the proceeds received by the sellers at closing will be reinvested in Marshall Wace’s funds and held in KKR common units,” a KKR news release said.
Over time, KKR may increase its ownership interest in Marshall Wace to 39.9%, under the terms of the deal.
London-based Marshall Wace managed $22 billion in assets as of Aug. 1, $2.5 billion of which was run in undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities funds for European investors.
Scott Nuttall, a KKR member and head of the firm’s global capital and asset management business, highlighted the attractiveness of Marshall Wace’s liquid alternative funds to KKR in the news release, which went on to note that “the collaboration will enhance the firms’ existing product suites and over time, enable the joint development of innovative new products.”
