Musical Chairs - Asset Manager Edition
Aug 28th, 2008 | Filed under: Hedge Fund Industry Trends, Institutional Investing, Today's Post
One sport that is still seeking Olympic recognition is musical chairs - the sport where competitors dance around in a circle until the music stops. Then, in the ensuing melee, they grab a seat anywhere they possibly can.
Well, let the asset management musical chairs begin. Managers of both the long-only and hedge fund persuasion seem to be uncommonly receptive to recent overtures from potential acquirers. Investment News reports that the “time may be right for big-name asset manager acquisitions”. They cite industry observers who suggest Lehman’s Neuberger Berman and Wachovia’s Evergreen Investment Management are making their way around the circle as we speak.
Apparently, the first half of 2008 saw a dearth of asset management M&A with stakes in 104 fund managers selling for a little over $10 billion - one third of the action seen in the first half of last year). So there is a backlog of managers who may be interested in cashing in a few chips - like, for example, Lehman and Wachovia.
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