eQ PLC STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE
20 November 2012, at 8:30 a.m.
eQ PLC ACQUIRES ICECAPITAL’S ASSET MANAGEMENT BUSINESS
eQ Plc acquires asset management business from ICECAPITAL Securities Ltd, excluding real estate private equity fund business, through the acquisition closed on 19 November 2012. The acquisition is a further step in eQ’s strategy to become a leading asset manager in Finland. ICECAPITAL offers asset management services mainly in Finland, however it has also offices in Sweden and Denmark. The acquired companies employ approximately 30 employees. eQ pays enterprise value (EV) of EUR 11.0 million, and the total purchase price for the shares is estimated to be EUR 14.1 million. eQ will finance the acquisition from its existing cash reserves and from bank financing.
eQ’s and ICECAPITAL’s products and services fit together well and complement each other. The asset management organization created through the acquisition is one of the most experienced in Finland. Through the acquisition eQ’s assets under management will increase from EUR 3.4 billion to EUR 6.0 billion. The acquisition is also expected to significantly increase the profitability of eQ Asset Management.
Acquired business includes mutual funds and discretionary asset management and also structured products and private equity fundraising. Customers are mainly institutional investors and high net worth individuals. The net sales of the acquired companies in 2011 amounted to approximately 7.3 million and the operating profit amounted to approximately EUR 1.3 million. The 2011 figures do not include operations that were discontinued during the financial year. The unaudited net sales for the period from January 1 to September 30, 2012 totaled approximately 5.0 million and the operating profit was approximately EUR 1.0 million. The acquired entity has total assets of approximately EUR 6.5 million.
”This acquisition is a significant step towards our goal to become a leading asset manager in Finland. eQ and ICECAPITAL complement each other well and will together form a strong and experienced asset management team. We seek both return and cost synergies as a result of the acquisition. Our plan is to integrate the acquired business into eQ and combine operational functions as quickly as possible. In the future, all business functions will be under the eQ brand”, CEO Janne Larma comments.
The transaction will be implemented as an acquisition, whereby eQ Plc acquires ICECAPITAL Asset Management Ltd and its fully owned subsidiaries, ICECAPITAL Fund Management Company Ltd, ICECAPITAL Life Ltd and ICECAPITAL Asset Management (Norway) AS as well as the following subsidiaries, where the personnel owns the: ICECAPITAL Financial Products Ltd, ICECAPITAL Asset Management AB (Sweden) and ICECAPITAL Asset Management (Denmark) A/S. The aim is to execute business transfers in early 2013 where the business of ICECAPITAL Asset Management Ltd is transferred to eQ Asset Management Ltd and business of ICECAPITAL Fund Management Company Ltd to eQ Fund Management Company Ltd. After this the companies will be merged during the spring of 2013.
Castrén & Snellman Attorneys Ltd acted as the legal advisor to eQ Plc in the transaction.
Helsinki 20 November 2012
eQ Plc
Board of Directors
Additional information: Janne Larma, CEO, tel. +358 40 500 4366
Distribution: NASDAQ OMX Helsinki, www.eQ.fi
eQ Group is a Finnish publicly listed group of companies that specialises in asset management and corporate finance operations. eQ Asset Management offers a wide range of asset management services (including private equity funds) for both institutional investors and private individuals. The assets managed by the Group total approximately EUR 6.0 billion after the acquisition announced on 20 November 2012.
Advium Corporate Finance Ltd, which is part of the Group, offers services related to mergers and acquisitions, real estate transactions and equity capital markets.
More information about the Group is available on our website at www.eQ.fi.