Fiera management solidifies control with buyout of investor's stake

financialpost.com:

Fiera Capital Corp.’s founder and his top managers solidified their control over the Canadian asset manager, striking a deal to buy out a top investor that was looking to exit its holding.

Fiera founder and chief executive Jean-Guy Desjardins — along with top executives and some board members — formed an entity to buy a $53 million stake controlled by Desjardins Group, according to a statement Friday. The deal represents about seven per cent of Montreal-based Fiera’s total outstanding shares.

The deal gives the CEO and his managers control over Fiera because their limited partnership, which will hold about 21 per cent of the asset manager’s shares, will receive special voting rights to choose two-thirds of the board as long as it owns more than one-fifth of the stock. Desjardins Group — one of Quebec’s top financial institutions, also held its stake through that structure.

“This acquisition enables the Fiera Capital senior management team to solidify their investment in the firm’s future, aligning their interests and long-term incentives directly with the company’s strategic goals,” Fiera said in the statement.

Jean-Guy Desjardins, via a complex holding structure, bought $13.7 million of the shares for sale.

Fiera was created in 2003 through the spinoff of a Desjardins Group subsidiary, starting with $5 billion of assets under management. The firm’s holdings —  invested in a wide variety of strategies in public and private markets, ranging from real estate to credit — have since swelled to $165 billion as of the end of March.

Desjardins Group disclosed its intent to sell its ownership on April 24, and Fiera’s shares had tumbled about 10 per cent since then. The stock traded at $6.82 before being halted Friday afternoon.