By Yamini Kalia and Iain Withers LONDON (Reuters) -Nelson Peltz’s hedge fund Trian and technology investor General Catalyst have made a takeover offer for Janus Henderson valuing it at $7.2 billion, the London-based money manager said on Monday, as Trian tightens its grip following a five-year activist campaign. Shares in New York-listed Janus Henderson were […]
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Peltz’s Trian, General Catalyst make offer for Janus Henderson valuing it at $7.2 billion
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By Yamini Kalia and Iain Withers
LONDON (Reuters) -Nelson Peltz’s hedge fund Trian and technology investor General Catalyst have made a takeover offer for Janus Henderson valuing it at $7.2 billion, the London-based money manager said on Monday, as Trian tightens its grip following a five-year activist campaign.
Shares in New York-listed Janus Henderson were last up 14%, after Janus Henderson confirmed the $46-per-share proposal in a statement.
Trian – which attracted headlines last year after an unsuccessful bruising proxy battle for board seats at Disney – is already Janus Henderson’s biggest shareholder with a 20% stake, after first investing in the asset manager in 2020. The proposal would see Trian work with General Catalyst to acquire the remaining shares.
In a letter to Janus Henderson’s board, Trian said taking Janus Henderson private would “derisk” its assets and enable more effective investment in products, technology and talent, free from the constraints of being a public company.
It also cited General Catalyst’s experience transforming industries with applied artificial intelligence, including through its company Percepta that focuses on data, AI and “workforce innovation”.
The investment industry has seen a wave of deals in recent years as fast-growing passive houses like BlackRock and Vanguard offering cheap index-trackers have squeezed active managers such as Janus Henderson.
Janus Henderson, which manages about $457 billion in assets, said it would appoint a special committee to consider the proposal and that Trian’s two representatives on its board would be excluded from the review.
Trian’s letter added its offer would allow shareholders to crystallise the results of a turnaround under the company’s CEO Ali Dibadj. When it first announced its investment in Janus Henderson in 2020, Trian said it wanted the company to consider strategic options like a merger as the industry faced consolidation.
The proposed offer was first reported by Bloomberg News earlier on Monday.
Janus Henderson was itself created out of the merger of Henderson Group and Janus Capital in May 2017, in a deal that initially underwhelmed investors.
(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru and Iain Withers in London; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri, Anousha Sakoui, Emelia Sithole-Matarise)