MetLife Investment Management (MIM), the institutional asset management business of MetLife announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire three investment teams and assets managed by Mesirow, an independent, employee-owned financial services firm. And MIM is acquiring the high yield and bank loans, strategic fixed-income and small-cap equity teams, and certain related investment products.
Under the terms of the deal, about $6 billion of assets managed by the acquired teams will transfer to MIM, subject to customary approvals and consents. The acquisition is consistent with MetLife’s New Frontier strategy to accelerate growth in asset management and MIM’s efforts to expand offerings and channels and add higher yield capabilities. MIM is one of the top 25 institutional investment managers globally, based on the assets under management.
This acquisition will advance the development of MIM’s leveraged finance platform, adding opportunistic high-yield and bank loan strategies with risk-return profiles that complement MIM’s current offering, including the strategies anticipated to be added through the recently announced acquisition of PineBridge Investments. The acquired teams consist of about 20 investment professionals, all of whom are expected to join MIM upon completion of the transaction.
Third Street Partners served as an advisor to MetLife in this deal.
KEY QUOTES:
“Building businesses with investment talent is a core belief. As fundamental, bottom-up investors, these investment teams are excellent strategic fits and bring seasoned talent to MIM. By leveraging the power of the MIM platform, we believe we can accelerate growth in these strategies through investment performance and the breadth of our distribution capabilities.”
– MIM President Jude Driscoll
“We are confident that MetLife will deliver scaled resources well suited to these three traditional investment strategies. Going forward, Mesirow will continue to focus on growing our alternatives capabilities and core Wealth Management, Fiduciary Solutions, and Capital Markets/Investment Banking offerings, which have over $300 billion in total assets under supervision.”
– Natalie Brown, Mesirow Chief Executive Officer
