Montreal-based Fiera Capital Corp. announced on Thursday that its wholly owned subsidiary, Fiera U.S. Holding Inc., has completed its previously announced acquisition of Dayton, Ohio-based Apex Capital Management Inc.
Apex, which is a growth equity management firm in the U.S. with approximately US$7 billion in assets under management (AUM) as of March 31, will now become part of Fiera’s U.S. division.
This transaction more than doubles Fiera’s presence in the U.S. institutional and subadvisory retail markets and increases total AUM to more than $107 billion. The transaction is expected to add a 10%-15% accretion to adjusted earnings per share within the first full year post closing.
“We are pleased to have officially completed this acquisition, which will bolster our U.S. growth strategy and enhance our global equity capabilities,” says Jean-Guy Desjardins, Fiera’s chairman and CEO, in a statement. “This move provides us with a significant complementary presence in the institutional and subadvisory retail markets and enables us to offer small/mid cap, small-cap and other growth strategies with proven track records. “
Nitin Kumbhani, Apex’s founder and CEO, will assume the role of vice chairman and chief of growth equity strategies of Fiera’s U.S. division.
“We are confident that the expertise the Apex team brings will supplement our existing strengths and boost our ability to serve our U.S. clients,” says Benjamin Thompson, president and CEO of Fiera’s U.S. division, in a statement. “Its team’s superior long-term performance speaks for itself, and we look forward to working with them as we continue to expand our presence in the U.S.”
The aggregate consideration paid at closing in connection with the transaction amounted to approximately US$145 million and is subject to various post-closing adjustments. An amount of US$88 million was paid in cash to the sellers and Fiera also issued US$57 million in Class A subordinate voting shares to the sellers.
Fiera has drawn approximately US$88 million under its credit facility to finance the transaction.
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