(Montreal) The senior management of Fiera Capital and certain members of its board of directors have acquired all of the shares held by Desjardins Group.
The Montreal asset manager announced Friday the repurchase of Desjardins’ stake equivalent to 6.8% of the company’s outstanding shares.
The transaction is worth $53 million with the purchase of the securities at a price of $7.25 each. The transaction totals more than 7 million Class B shares (with voting rights) and Class A shares (with subordinate voting rights).
In a press release, Fiera explains that part of the total purchase price was financed through a $20 million credit facility made available by a Canadian bank to a company formed by members of senior management.
Of the amount of 53 million, almost 14 million comes from the founder of Fiera, Jean-Guy Desjardins, who bought a share of the shares.
Last April, Fiera indicated that Desjardins, a long-time shareholder, wanted to sell its stake.
The two organizations stressed Friday that their business relations remain despite the share buyback.
“Desjardins has been an important and valued partner since the inception of our company, and has supported us over the past two decades,” said Mr. Desjardins, Chairman and Global CEO of Fiera, by way of communicated.
“This transaction is part of our investment strategy,” said Desjardins Group President and CEO Guy Cormier.
“Fiera Capital remains an important business partner for Desjardins. We will continue our business relationship with Fiera, particularly in terms of the management of our trust funds,” he added.
Desjardins has been a partner of Fiera from the very beginning. In 2003, Desjardins sold its majority stake in Elantis to Jean-Guy Desjardins. This transaction will be the first chapter in the creation of Fiera. It allowed Mr. Desjardins to get back into business after selling TAL Global Asset Management to CIBC.
In addition to its headquarters in Montreal, Fiera Capital has affiliates in different regions and has offices in more than a dozen cities around the world, including New York, London and Hong Kong.