Absolute to take absolute control
AbsoluteCapital has completed a management buyout of its minority shareholder Martplace (formerly AM Financial), and plans to take full control of the company by buying back the remaining one-third stake currently held by global hedge fund group, RMF.
The buyout of Martplace’s 15 per cent stake was prompted byIOOF’s recent purchase ofAM Corporation.
Absolute Capital group managing director Deon Joubert says: “We felt that our historical link with AM Financial was now superfluous, and the principals of the business, Mike Devlin and myself, want to take the company in a slightly different direction, and the more of the company we own the better it would be to progress into new opportunities.”
These opportunities include the expansion of an integrated business model including asset management, capital markets and a structured products business in the Australian and New Zealand markets.
Despite severing ties with AM Financial, Absolute Capital will continue the relationship with IOOF, for which it is currently managing around $185 million in funds.
“We view our relationship with IOOF as a new one, we don’t think they know and understand our business like AM used to, and we will do what we have to to move closer to them, and show them that the money we currently manage for them is in good hands,” Joubert says.
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