The biggest publicly traded hedge-fund manager in the world – Man Group Plc made an official statement today, revealing that it is currently negotiating with Numeric Holdings LLC. The company, however, explained in its announcement that the talks are still “ongoing” and may not result in finalizing a deal.
Numeric was founded in 1989 by Lang Wheeler, who previously worked for State Street Corp. TA Associates Inc. and currently the company manages assets that amount to more than 13.9 billion dollars.
The eventual deal is estimated to more than 200 million dollars. Currently, Numeric Holdings LLC is an owner of about 14 billion dollars in assets under management and has about 47 institutional customers. The transaction, if completed, would be the first major purchase of Man Group Plc since it acquired HMR Holdings and GLG Partner.
Man Group, which manages more than 555 billion dollars in assets, has been following the path of massive restructuring process after posting information about slow performance and being affected by heavy outflows of customer funds over the period following the global financial crisis.
Thanks to the transaction, Man Group would get the opportunity to diversify its funds, which are now mainly based on the AHL computer-driven funds. In addition, the deal is also expected to help the group consolidate its presence in the U.S., providing it with the opportunity to work with a variety of customers, including pension funds.
The step towards the acquisition follows a series of such moves Man Group has been following since 2010 in order to expand its business, especially after some analysts put under question the dependence of the group on its largest hedge fund – AHL Diversified.
The current Chief Executive Officer of Man Group Plc – Manny Roman, said there was surplus capital that amounted to 550 million dollars, which could be used for an acquisition of a competitive asset manager. In case the cash is not used, then it will be returned to investors, which have insisted on several other competitor hedge fund groups and said that Man Group should stay focused on its AHL unit.
Man Group Plc was adding 3.90% to trade at 98.50 pence per share by 9:27 GMT, marking a one year change of -19.66%.
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