Financial services and insurance firm Sanlam, Cape Town, South Africa, has selected asset management firm Ninety One to take ownership of its active investment management arm, according to a news release.
Sanlam will appoint also appoint Ninety One as the investment manager of Sanlam Investments U.K. As part of this, Ninety One will take on third-party assets, balance sheet assets and the relevant investment professionals.
A total pool of assets of approximately 400 billion South African rand ($22 billion) is expected to transfer to Ninety One. About 80% of the assets are managed in South Africa.
Sanlam will also become an anchor investor in Ninety One’s private and specialist credit strategies that meet its investment requirements. The parties’ intention is to enter a relationship for at least 15 years.
Ninety One also intends to issue shares to Sanlam, giving Sanlam an approximate stake of 12.3% of Ninety One’s share capital. Ninety One will remain an independent investment manager with its staff its largest shareholder.
“Sanlam is pleased to partner with a like-minded business with a shared South African heritage, proven global expertise and a reputable brand,” said Paul Hanratty, Sanlam group chief executive officer in the news release.
“By leveraging our complementary competencies, Sanlam Investments will be strengthening its South African and global position as a multiskilled asset manager.”
Through the deal, Ninety One will also gain preferred access to Sanlam’s distribution network, and look to enhance its position in the South African market.
Ninety One is a global asset manager with headquarters in the U.K. and South Africa, and managed £127.4 billion ($170.4 billion) in assets as of Sept. 30.
Sanlam has approximately 1 trillion South African rand in assets under management across its institutional and retail arms.
