Sanlam buys Absa’s investment management businesses

Sanlam and Absa announced on Tuesday that Sanlam would acquire Absa’s investment management business, increasing Sanlam Investment Holdings’s (SIH) total assets under management to more than R1 trillion.

The transaction will result in Absa holding 17.5 percent in Sanlam Investments.

According to a statement, Absa Investments includes Absa Asset Management, Absa Alternative Asset Management, Absa Fund Managers and Absa Multi Management.

Absa’s Prudential Money Market Fund is excluded from the transaction.

Empowerment group ARC Financial Services Investments has a 25 percent interest in Sanlam Investments, with Sanlam owning the remaining 75 percent. The combination of SIH with Absa Investments will further strengthen SIH’s position as one of South Africa’s largest black-owned asset managers.

Absa also intends to sell its market linked investment services provider (Lisp) business to Glacier.

Absa will also enter into a 10-year distribution agreement with SIH, meaning the expanded operations will utilise the distribution networks of both Sanlam and Absa, which significantly broadens the market reach for the enlarged SIH.

Sanlam Group CEO Paul Hanratty said, “Sanlam prides itself on having a leading investment business at our core to ensure that we can deliver superb returns to all our customers.

“We are confident that this transaction will strengthen our ability to deliver investment excellence for customers through our ability to further invest in the business.”

Jason Quinn, Absa Interim group chief executive, said, “the transaction delivers improved scale, capabilities, customer propositions and transformation, all of which we view as essential to achieving growth in the investment management sector.

“The transaction will help us create a deeper, broader range of investment solutions for our clients.”

“There is an exciting complementary nature to the relationship, which we believe will realise value for all of our stakeholders.”

The effective date of the transaction is expected to occur in the first half of 2022.

-Moneyweb