Fiera Capital Corp. has reached an agreement to acquire an 80% interest in Palmer Capital Partners Ltd., a U.K.-focused real estate investment manager based in London, the Montreal-based asset manager announced Friday.
The transaction will be made through Fiera Capital’s wholly owned alternative asset subsidiary, Fiera Properties Ltd., which provides direct real estate investment opportunities to institutional investors, foundation and endowment clients, and high-net-worth individuals.
Under the terms of the purchase agreement, the 80% interest to be acquired by Fiera Capital has an equity value of £40 million ($68 million) and an enterprise value of £30 million ($51 milllion), subject to post-closing price adjustments.
Palmer Capital, founded in 1992, has more than £800 million in assets under management with an additional £215.5 million managed through the joint ventures of eight regional property companies in which it is a minority shareholder, Fiera Capital says in a news release.
Palmer Capital will remain independently managed but will become the U.K. arm of Fiera Properties. Founder Ray Palmer will remain executive chairman and Alex Price, CEO, will continue to run the day-to-day strategy and operations of the business.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019. The acquisition will increase Fiera Capital’s headcount in the U.K. to over 100, the firm says.
The deal marks Fiera Capital’s first acquisition of a real estate investment-management business outside of Canada and its second acquisition in the U.K. market following its acquisition of boutique fund manager Charlemagne Capital in 2017.
Fiera Capital increased its presence in Asia with the acquisition of Clearwater Capital Partners in March 2018.
In Canada, Fiera Capital recently sold its retail mutual fund lineup to Calgary-based Canoe Financial LP.