(Bloomberg) — Private equity firm Advent International and a unit of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority are buying a minority stake in billionaire Ken Fisher’s Fisher Investments worth as much as $3 billion.
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The transaction, in which the acquirers will invest at least $2.5 billion, values Fisher at $12.75 billion, the money management company said in a statement on Sunday. According to the company, the deal is part of Ken Fisher’s estate planning and ensures that Fisher Investments can continue to operate independently.
“Although my health is excellent, this transaction with an atypically long holding period for a private equity transaction will ensure FI’s private independence and culture in the long term should anything untoward happen to me,” Fisher, 73, said in the statement.
Bloomberg News and the Journal reported in January that Advent had held discussions to acquire Fisher, both citing people with knowledge of the matter. At the time, Fisher issued a statement saying: “Fisher Investments is not being purchased by Advent International or anyone else – plain and simple.” Advent has issued a similar denial of the January reports.
Fisher Investments oversees $275 billion for more than 150,000 clients, including individuals and institutions, the company said in its statement on Sunday.
Ken Fisher founded the firm in 1979 and moved its headquarters last year to Plano, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, after the highest court in Washington state said a capital gains tax on wealthy residents was constitutional.
The San Francisco native has an estimated net worth of $5.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Advent, which has made private equity bets since 1989, counts financial services among its areas of focus and has backed companies such as Worldpay and Vantiv, its website shows. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund, was founded in 1976 and has an investment strategy focused on long-term value, Sunday’s statement said.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Sunday that Advent was nearing a deal to buy a minority stake in Fisher.
–With help from Lin Cheng and Michelle F. Davis.
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