Fund manager HFA Holdings’ (HFA) takeover proposal for United States hedge fund rival Lighthouse Partners (Lighthouse) has been approved.
The deal, set to finish in January, was approved sooner than expected and will improve the combined company’s earnings per share and cash earnings, HFA said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
“Together with Lighthouse, HFA will have improved quality and diversity of earnings, strong business model, diversified fee base, access to greater range of products, (and) opportunity to expand HFA’s success beyond Australia,” the statement said.
A merger between HFA and Lighthouse will give the combined entity total assets under management worth over $9 billion and possibly vault the entity’s market cap above $1 billion, HFA chief executive Spencer Young said.
“The merger will not affect the investment team or the investment process at Lighthouse or HFA in any way,” Young said.
The deal has been approved by the US anti-trust laws, the Foreign Investment Review Board and by shareholders.
HFA made a $707 million cash and scrip offer for Lighthouse in July.
HFA reported a 157 per cent leap in full-year profit excluding one-offs to $20.3 million in 2007, compared with $7.9 million last year.
