Goldman Sachs buys NN Investment Partners in 1.7b euro deal
New York
GOLDMAN Sachs Group Inc agreed to buy the asset-management arm of Dutch insurer NN Group NV, expanding the US bank's presence in Europe and bringing greater access to the fast-growing sustainable-investment trend.
The acquisition of NN Investment Partners hands the insurer cash proceeds of 1.7 billion euros (S$2.7 billion) and is expected to take place by the first quarter of 2022, NN said in a statement on Thursday.
Satish Bapat, chief executive officer of the investment arm, will step down from NN's management board with immediate effect and continue to lead NN Investment Partners.
Under the agreement, NN Group and Goldman Sachs Asset Management will enter into a 10-year partnership whereby the combined company will continue to provide asset-management services to NN Group.
Asset management is experiencing a wave of consolidation, as scale becomes an ever more important success factor in an industry faced with growing margin pressures.
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Most players are also seeking to increase exposure to growth markets such as environmental, social, and governance-investing, passive investing and private assets. NN Investment Partners has invested about three quarters of its assets according to ESG-integrated strategies.
"This acquisition allows us to accelerate our growth strategy and broaden our asset-management platform," Goldman Sachs chief executive officer David Solomon said in the statement. NN's sustainability effort "mirrors our own level of ambition to put responsible investing and stewardship at the heart of our business," he said.
The Dutch insurer's investment arm, with about 300 billion euros in assets under management, was put up for sale following a strategic review in April, and was said to draw early interest from firms including UBS Asset Management, Assicurazioni Generali and Allianz.
Several other asset managers have changed hands recently, as banks and insurers sell dedicated units that aren't able to compete on fees with the largest international fund houses. The biggest European asset manager, France's Amundi, bought Societe Generale's Lyxor unit in April. In June, Pimco parent Allianz said it wanted to play an active role in the consolidation of the industry. BLOOMBERG
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