Global law firm Clifford Chance has advised Man Group plc on its £105m acquisition of a 25% stake in hedge fund manager BlueCrest Capital Management in a deal announced yesterday.
Approximately 5 million new shares will be issued to finance the deal, with £33.3m of cash coming from Man Group.
Through RMF, a subsidiary, Man Group has been a long-term investor in BlueCrest’s main fund, a $2.4bn international fixed-income arbitrage fund that has delivered a compound annual return of 16% since its launch. The agreement will give Man Group preferential access to BlueCrest’s funds as well as a share of the company’s pre-tax profits, which would have been worth £7.6m in the 12 months to the end of this month.
London corporate partner Mark Carroll led the Clifford Chance team advising on the deal, supported by Matt Judd (London funds partner), Richard Horowitz (New York funds partner) and Matt Kwan (London corporate associate).
Mark Carroll commented:
“Having advised Man Group on its recent acquisitions of RMF and GNI and on its recent bond issue we are delighted to have acted on this latest transaction for Man Group, a key client of Clifford Chance, through our London and New York offices.”
