Amundi seals Kleinwort Benson takeover

A familiar name has been lost from the Irish asset management sector following the close on Wednesday of Amundi Asset Management's takeover of Kleinwort Benson Investors. This followed regulatory approval recently from the Central Bank of Ireland.

For clients of Dublin-based Kleinwort Benson, it will be a case of business as usual, just under a different name – it will now be known as KBI Global Investors (KBIGI).

The deal was originally announced on May 23rd and involves Amundi taking an 87.5 per cent stake in the Irish firm, with management and “key employees” acquiring the balance.

This transaction follows the sale and subsequent break-up of the wider Kleinwort Benson Group.

The new owners are a France-listed asset manager with more than €1 trillion in assets under management across 30 countries. It is thought to be Europe’s biggest asset manager.

Amundi will no doubt be encouraged by the fact that KBIGI’s own assets under management increased over the past six months, while the deal was in gestation and there was a certain amount of uncertainty hanging over the Irish business.

KBIGI specialises in equities, with 62 staff in offices in Dublin, Boston and New York. At the end of July, it had €8.1 billion of assets under management. It has grown by an impressive 28 per cent on average each year since 2011 and plans to add new hires later this year.

KBIGI chief executive Sean Hawkshaw has recorded a near nine-minute video – available on http://www.kbiglobalinvestors.com/corporatevideo – to explain the nuts and bolts of the transaction and what it means for its clients going forward. It serves its purpose, although Hawshaw shouldn't expect a call from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.