GAM to acquire global equity manager Taube Hodson Stonex

GAM will acquire the global equity investment assets, team and client relationships of Taube Hodson Stonex Partners in a deal that will add about £1.8 billion ($2.6 billion) in assets under management to GAM's business, a GAM spokeswoman said.

THS, which is based in the U.K., specializes in thematic, bottom-up and benchmark-agnostic equity strategies. It manages about $2 billion in global equities, and a further $600 million in European equities. The firm is also a subadviser to one of GAM's global equity strategies, said a news release Monday.

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter. Financial details were not disclosed.

A spokesman for THS said GAM is acquiring the investment management business from THS' five managing members.

The acquisition will see THS' investment team relocate to GAM's London offices, with their strategies marketed under the GAM brand. The THS investment team is led by four principals: Cato Stonex, Mark Evans, Robert Smithson and Ali Miremadi. The whole investment staff of eight, the firm's clients, strategy track records and other intellectual property will transfer to GAM upon completion of the deal, the THS spokesman said. GAM is not acquiring the operations of THS, including marketing, compliance, fund administration, and information technology, “which will be closed down once the transition to GAM has been effected,” he said in an e-mail.

“With their proven track record and deep expertise, the THS team is a great strategic and cultural fit for GAM, and we are delighted that they have chosen to join us,” said Alexander Friedman, group CEO of GAM, in the news release. “We have a multidecade relationship with the founders, and this acquisition is consistent with the growth agenda we set out in 2015, which includes targeting opportunities that substantially deepen our global equity capabilities.”

“GAM's global client network and its operational infrastructure will allow us to remain focused on our investment priorities and to build on our strengths,” Mr. Stonex said in the same release.

GAM has 114.7 billion Swiss francs ($117.5 billion) in assets under management.