Private equity firm Advent International and a wholly owned subsidiary of sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority have agreed to jointly acquire a minority stake in money manager Fisher Investments.
Advent and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority will invest $2.5 billion to $3 billion in the deal, giving Fisher Investments a value of about $12.75 billion, said a June 17 release.
The transaction also marks the first outside investment in Fisher Investments, as ownership formerly was solely the domain of family and employees.
Upon closing, which is expected to occur later this year, Ken Fisher, the founder, will remain in his current role as executive chairman and co-chief investment officer of Fisher Investments, while Damian Ornani will continue as CEO.
At closing, Ken Fisher will retain a majority of beneficial ownership and of voting shares exceeding 70% of the company.
Also upon closing, David Mussafer, managing partner at Advent, will join the board of directors at Fisher Investments.
Ken Fisher stated in the release: “This transaction is aimed dually at estate tax and planning purposes while assuring that (Fisher Investments) will maintain its traditional culture, growth evolution and devotion to exceptional client service.”
The investment will not impact Fisher Investments’ clients, employees or day-to-day operations, the release noted. Fisher Investments does not contemplate any further investment transactions.
Fisher Investments manages more than $275 billion for over 150,000 clients globally.
As of Dec. 31, Advent had $94 billion in assets under management.
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority does not disclose its assets, but the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute estimates its holdings to be $993 billion.
