Catalla AB, the Sweden headquartered financial group, has acquired a 75% stake in UK based property and asset manager APAM Ltd in a deal valued at £18m.
Catella AB made the purchase through Catella Property Fund Management AB. With a £2.7m payment on signing, the remaining amount will be paid in cash on completion of the deal, which is expected to complete in the second half of 2018, subject to regulatory approval from the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) in Luxembourg.
APAM has assets under management of some £1.4bn (€1.57bn). Simon Cooke and William Powell, founders and executive directors, will remain shareholders in APAM, each with 12.5% of the share capital and voting power after the transaction. APAM will continue to be independently run by its current management team and continue its existing UK market strategy. Together with Catella, overall AUM will reach some £18bn (€20.2bn).
Catella Property Investment Management has achieved a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in AUM of 43% over the past three years, said Timo Nurminen, head of Property Investment Management at Catella.
The deal with APAM is expected to be particularly interesting for Asian clients, looking to expand their pan-European exposure with a significant share allocated to the UK, Nurminen added.
