New York Life Investments has signed a deal to acquire Dexia Asset Management for €380 million, ending a bidding process in which several firms were linked with the Franco-Belgian bank’s asset management division.
The buyer says the addition of Dexia’s €73 billion in assets under management will bring New York Life Investments’ assets to more than $480 billion (€356 billion) and is likely to put the firm in the top 25 institutional managers by assets.
The transaction, which still requires regulatory approval, is expected to close at the end of the year.
“The acquisition of Dexia Asset Management will provide our clients with access to the company’s highly-rated funds, strong European platform, and established Australian equities business,” says John Kim, chief executive, New York Life Investments.
Last week, London-based investment firm FinEx Capital said it had bid to acquire Dexia Asset Management. The firm hoped to increase its size of its platform before expanding into Asia.
Last December, a Hong Kong-based private equity firm, GCS Capital, agreed to pay €380 million for Dexia Asset Management but the deal collapsed. In July, Dexia Asset Management issued a statement saying GCS Capital had failed to meet its payment obligations.
New York Life Investments is part of New York Life Insurance, the largest mutual life insurance company in the US according to a ranking by Fortune magazine in May.
New York Life Investments had $388 billion under management on July 31 of which a little under half, $173 billion, were third-party assets.
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