Credit Suisse Acquires Majority Interest In Asset Management Finance Corporation

by Ulrika Lomas, for LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

27 August 2008

Credit Suisse Group announced on Wednesday the acquisition on behalf of its Alternative Investments business of a majority interest in Asset Management Finance Corporation (AMF) from National Bank of Canada's merchant banking subsidiary (National Bank).

Credit Suisse Group will acquire over 80% of AMF for USD384m of newly issued Credit Suisse Group stock, the banking group revealed in a statement.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in New York, AMF provides asset management firms with capital while allowing them to maintain their ownership, independence and operational autonomy. Since its formation, AMF has completed 12 transactions with both traditional and alternative managers, with aggregate assets under management of approximately USD50bn.

AMF's investments are diversified across a broad range of strategies including emerging markets, large and small cap equities, real estate, currency, timber and wealth management.

According to Credit Suisse, the firm's capital has been used by asset managers seeking funding for a broad range of initiatives including owner liquidity, internal equity transfers, management buy-outs and other strategic objectives.

Brian Finn, Chairman of Credit Suisse's Alternative Investments business, explained that:

"This transaction is consistent with our strategy of adding leading investment businesses to our platform. AMF has a significant pipeline due to the demand for capital from a significant number of high-quality asset managers. In addition, AMF has significant opportunities for growth outside the US."

"We look forward to leveraging our single-center of excellence model to expand and grow AMF's business. We warmly welcome Norton and his team to the Credit Suisse family."

The transaction has already received all necessary regulatory approvals, and will close this week.

Recommended