Magellan’s Airlie acquisition melds similar cultures
The key to Magellan’s acquisition of John Sevior’s and Matt Williams’ Airlie Funds Management is that it will deliver a strong and scalable Australian equities capacity without diluting Magellan’s global focus.
The Magellan brand will remain focused on global equities while the strikingly philosophically similar Airlie will remain focused on Australian equities.
However, a distinct signal is being sent to the market via the two brands launching the Airlie Industrial Share Fund which will be an Active Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) quoted on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
In a market environment in which distribution is the key, the product will look to leverage Airlie’s Australian equities capability and Magellan’s unquestioned reach into the retail and adviser market.
Magellan co-founder and chief executive, Hamish Douglass reflected the nature of the transaction when he acknowledged how long he had known Sevior and Williams, who he described as being amongst the most respected portfolio managers in Australian equities.
For his part, Sevior said Airlie had found a long-term partner in Magellan with a strong alignment in cultures and philosophies.
The transaction will see Magellan acquire 100 per cent of Airlie through the issue of shares in Magellan to Airlie’s shareholders at the completion of the acquisition, scheduled for 28 February.
Magellan also on Tuesday announced its acquisition of its North American distribution partner, Frontier Partners Group.
The company said total considerable payable in respect of the acquisition comprised $US15 million in cash and approximately 4.5 million Magellan shares.
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