Virtus Investment Partners has agreed to acquire multiboutique money manager RidgeWorth Investments from private equity firm Lightyear Capital and RidgeWorth's employees for $472 million, said RidgeWorth spokeswoman Melissa Murphy.
The deal is expected to close in mid-2017.
The acquisition will add complementary institutional-quality equity and fixed-income strategies from RidgeWorth's boutique managers, which will continue to operate independently, maintaining their teams, brand names and distinctive investment processes.
RidgeWorth's wholly owned affiliates are Seix Investment Advisors, which manages $28 billion in fixed income; Ceredex Value Advisors, $10.2 billion for institutions, endowments, foundations and high-net worth investors using a traditional value style across all market cap ranges; and Silvant Capital Management, which manages $1.4 billion, primarily in large-cap growth for institutions.
RidgeWorth also has a minority ownership stake in growth equity boutique, Zevenbergen Capital Investments.
The transaction will also diversify and expand Virtus' client base, particularly among institutional investors, and enhance distribution resources in the institutional, retirement plan, private bank and registered investment adviser channels.
RidgeWorth has $40.2 billion in assets under management. The deal will increase Virtus' AUM to $86.8 billion.
Lightyear purchased RidgeWorth from SunTrust Banks through its investment funds in May 2014.
