Sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Co. and Bank of Montreal agreed to acquire minority stakes in global multistrategy alternative asset management firm Sagard, a spokesman confirmed.
Sagard has $14.5 billion in assets under management across private markets strategies, including private equity, private credit, venture capital and real estate.
As part of the deal, Great-West Lifeco — another Sagard shareholder — agreed to increase its existing minority stake.
The transactions are expected to close during the third quarter, subject to regulatory approvals.
The sovereign wealth fund, which is known as ADQ and has $159 billion in assets, along with BMO and GWL will invest capital to strengthen Sagard's fundraising, accelerate the firm's ability to launch new strategies and drive future growth through additional mergers and acquisitions.
A source close to the deal said the three entities are jointly investing more than $100 million of capital in Sagard and have made commitments worth $2 billion in long-term capital for Sagard to invest through its existing and future investment strategies.
"Strategic partner capital enables us to attract high-quality investment teams, launch new investment strategies, and fundraise more rapidly," said Paul Desmarais III, chairman and CEO of Sagard, in a joint news release Thursday. "In addition, this will expand our global network, making us even stronger business partners for our portfolio companies."
Murtaza Hussain, CIO M&A and alternative investments at ADQ, added in the news release: "Our investment in Sagard directly aligns with our strategic vision. This investment underscores our commitment to continuous growth, innovation and enhanced value creation. Sagard's entrepreneurial ability to mobilize investment talent, launch new differentiated strategies and deliver concrete results has attracted us to partner with them."
