Spanish insurance firm Mutua Madrileña Group has taken a 20% stake in Alantra Asset Management (Alantra AM) for €45m, money that will be destined to finance the growth plans of Alantra's AM division.
The current price of the operation could go up to €11.2m more depending on future earn out, said Mutua in a statement.
Alantra AM is the investment division of the global financial group Alantra that invests in alternative assets. The unit offers clients access to a broad offering of investment strategies that range from direct investments to fund of funds, co-investments, and secondaries across six asset classes: private equity; active funds; private debt; infrastructure; real estate; and private wealth management.
As part of the operation, Alantra and Mutua will be co-launching an investment pool designed to be investing in funds and other financial products managed by Alantra AM. Both parties have agreed to co-invest equally pouring collectively €100m.
Mutua's note read: "With this operation, whose closure is just subject to the authorisation of the Spanish regulator CNMV, Mutua will become the strategic partner of Alantra AM providing it the financial resources to boost its business growth.
"The deal will also strengthen Alantra AM's capital raising capabilities."
The operation is part of Mutua Group's Strategic Plan 2018-2020, which aims, among other goals, at further diversifying the insurer's investments while growing its asset and wealth management businesses.
As part of this strategic plan, Mutua had already taken a 50% stake in the private banking business of Alantra in December 2018 for €23.7m. By that time, Mutua said that with the operation it was seeking to strengthen its asset management business through new client's portfolios and acquisitions.
Alantra's asset management division includes the QMC range of funds, made up of two differentiated strategies and management teams: the pan-European EQMC Fund, an open-end equity strategy that invests in the European midmarket universe; and the Iberian Small & Mid Cap strategy, also an equity fund, currently in the fundraising process of its third version, investing in small and mid-caps too but just from Iberia.
The QMC family focuses on concentrated portfolios, from 10 to 12 holdings, of high quality companies from the midmarket space. Funds from the range actively work with management teams and the companies' shareholders in order to enhance and accelerate value by driving changes constructively through a very ample toolkit of initiatives.
Source: Mutua Madrileña Group
