GERMANY – Sal. Oppenheim, a German private bank, has acquired sizeable stakes in London-based hedge fund providers Attica Alternative Investments (AAI) and Integrated Asset Management (IAM). Financial details were not disclosed.

Sal. Oppenheim said that in a complex transaction, it had acquired a 49.9% stake in AAI and a 27% stake in IAM. The bank added that as a result of the deal, it had gained another €1bn in assets managed by hedge funds.

“The deal provides us with an excellent position in Europe’s hedge fund market,” commented Detlef Bierbaum, managing partner at Sal. Oppenheim in charge of asset management.

Even with its engagement, which is just shy of a majority stake, Sal. Oppenheim said AAI would be run separately with its own brand name. “We see it as very important that the experience and the track record at AAI are preserved,” said Bierbaum.

Cologne-based Sal. Oppenheim has co-operated with AAI and IAM, both of whom specialise in fund-of-hedge funds, for several years.

In 2004, when hedge funds were first legalised in Germany, Sal. Oppenheim and AAI launched two fund-of-hedge funds. Sal. Oppenheim and IAM also have a partnership in Italy in the area of structured products.

At last count, Oppenheim KAG had around €17bn in institutional assets under management. Roughly 40% of this volume came from pension funds.

Beyond the €1bn in assets the bank is getting from the deals with AAI and IAM, it already had €200m invested in its own fund-of-hedge funds.

Topics