An asset manager based in Germany and Switzerland makes an acquisition in Germany catapulting the former bank into a new level.
Anyone betting on Bantleon taking over ailing Swiss fund house GAM will be disappointed. Today Bantleon revealed it is acquiring its competitor Warburg Invest based in Hanover, Germany. A contract was signed yesterday with the owner, Hamburg-based banking group M.M. Warburg & Co, according to a statement.
The transaction price of the deal was not revealed, but it does come with a footnote. Bantleon points out the fund subsidiary of M.M. Warburg is not involved in the cum-ex tax fraud scandal which ensnared former M.M. Warburg executives who have been sentenced to long prison terms.
Institutional Investors Focus
That remains a relevant issue because the takeover is subject to approval by the German and Swiss regulatory authorities Bafin and Finma, respectively. If the authorities greenlight the transaction, a firm with assets under management of more than 23 billion euros ($24.7 billion), over 24 billion euros of assets under administration, and 140 employees, will have been created.
This is an enormous leap forward for Bantleon, which most recently managed around 5 billion euros in assets with 46 employees. Both companies primarily serve institutional clients, although they have different areas of specialization. For Bantleon it is active management, while the new subsidiary manages its portfolios more closely linked to individual customer requirements. More than 30 fund managers will work for the new entity.
Swiss Participation
In the process, the Swiss-German buyer is cementing its focus on asset management. Bantleon returned its Swiss banking license, which owner Joerg Bantleon acquired in 1998, last May, as finews.com reported.
He is further connected to Switzerland through investments and holds more than 10 percent of GAM. Between 2016 and 2020, he was also a major shareholder in the Zurich-based Bellevue Group.
