Henderson Group and Janus Capital Group agreed to a merger of equals to create a money manager with $325 billion in assets under management.
The firm, which will be renamed Janus Henderson Global Investors PLC, will combine Janus' U.S. presence with that of Henderson in the U.K. and Europe. A newly formed, direct wholly owned subsidiary of Henderson will merge with and into Janus.
The combined group will apply to trade on the New York Stock Exchange as its primary listing, and will retain Henderson's existing listing on the Australian Securities Exchange. Henderson will delist from the London Stock Exchange.
Henderson’s stock closed Monday up 16.7% to £270.70 ($351.16) per share. Janus’ stock closed at $15.71, up 12.1% from the Sept. 30 close.
Henderson, which has £100 billion ($129.7 billion) in AUM, is headquartered in the U.K. In an analyst call Monday, Andrew Formica, CEO of Henderson, said he and Richard Weil, CEO of Denver-based Janus, will become co-CEOs. Both will be based in London. Janus has $195 billion in AUM.
The merger will take place via a share exchange. Each share of Janus common stock will be exchanged for 4.7190 Henderson ordinary shares. Henderson shareholders are expected to own about 57% of Janus Henderson Global Investors' shares on closing, with the remaining 43% to be owned by Janus shareholders. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of next year, subject to requisite shareholder and regulatory approvals.
Enrique Chang, head of investments at Janus, will become global chief investment officer. Phil Wagstaff, global head of distribution at Henderson, will continue in that role. Janus President Bruce Koepfgen will become head of North America, while Rob Adams, executive chairman pan-Asia at Henderson, becomes head of Asia-Pacific.
The operations of Janus subsidiaries INTECH Investment Management and Perkins Investment Management are unaffected by the merger.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch was financial adviser and corporate broker to Henderson. Centerview Partners was also financial adviser to the money manager. Janus was advised by Loeb Spencer House Partners, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates. Law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised Henderson.
