Macquarie Asset Management sells North American and European investment arm to Japan’s Nomura for $2.8b

Macquarie Group is selling off its North American and European public investment businesses to Japanese banking and brokerage group Nomura in a deal worth about $2.8 billion.

The all-cash acquisition for the Philadelphia-based unit under the umbrella of Macquarie Asset Management comprising equities, fixed income and multi-asset strategies, with about $285 billion of assets under management and more than 700 staff.

The deal is expected to close by the end of this year, subject to regulatory approvals, and is part of the Australian bank’s efforts to shift its focus to private markets.

MAM will retain its public investments business in Australia, where it will be “a more focused, leading, global private markets alternatives business”.

Chair of Nomura’s investment management division Chris Willcox said the transaction would accelerate the expansion of its global investment management business “and will be a significant step in building a truly global franchise with a comprehensive set of solutions to serve investors worldwide”.

The acquisition also includes plans to collaborate on product and distribution opportunities, including Nomura becoming a US wealth distribution partner for MAM.

Nomura will also provide seed capital for a range of MAM alternative funds tailored for US wealth clients.

“We are pleased that Nomura will carry it forward into a new phase of growth in North America and Europe. We are also excited to further strengthen our collaboration with Nomura, creating benefits for our respective clients,“ said MAM head Ben Ben Way.

“This transaction will allow MAM to build on our leading global position in private markets, and our leading position in Australian public markets, as we focus on providing solutions for our institutional, insurance and wealth clients.”

Nomura said it had identified global asset management as a key strategic growth priority for the investment bank,

Bringing Macquarie’s North American and European public investment arms into the fold will increase the assets under management of its investment management division to $US770 billion ($1.2b), up from the $US590b.

Nomura — which is among Japan’s largest brokerages and investment firms with a presence in about 30 countries — said the buy would add significant scale in the US.

“This high-operating margin business will bring well-established distribution networks in both retail and institutional segments,” the bank said.

“The business has a presence on nine of the top 10 retail distribution platforms in the US, as well as strong institutional relationships, including within US insurance, a growing sector for asset managers globally.

“With its origins in Delaware Investments, which was established in 1929 and acquired by Macquarie in 2010, the business has a long history of serving clients through actively managed strategies.”

Macquarie share were up 1.1 per cent at 10am to $181.84.