The conclusion of the CBAM acquisition continues a busy period for London-listed Close Brothers.

Oaktree Capital Management, the US-headquartered firm, has completed its purchase of Close Brothers Asset Management from its UK-listed parent, Close Brothers. The deal, for an equity value of up to £200 million ($253.9 million), was originally announced in September last year. 

The equity value of the deal included £28 million of contingent deferred consideration in the form of preference shares. The cost represents a multiple of 27 times CBAM's statutory operating profit after tax for the 2024 financial year.

The deal is another one for Oaktree, which has been transacting in the UK wealth sector for more than 10 years, for example through its purchase of Ascot Lloyd in 2013. In 2021, it acquired the UK wealth arm of Sanlam (now called atomos). 

Offloading CBAM came as Close Brothers sought to boost profitability; it is wrestling with a regulatory investigation into its motor finance business. In the 12 months to 31 July 2024, Close Brothers said its statutory pre-tax profit rose 27 per cent year-on-year to £142 million; adjusted earnings per share surged 38 per cent to 76.1 pence per share. Close Brothers Asset Management's total assets rose 18 per cent to £20.4 billion. The firm also recently announced a change at the top: CEO Adrian Sainsbury left to “focus on his health.” Since the start of the year, investors like what they see, with shares up more than 43.5 per cent since the start of January. 

Close Brothers said the CBAM business will continue to trade as CBAM for a short period and a new name will replace it in due course.

CBAM’s executive committee, with CEO Eddy Reynolds in place, continues to lead the business, which operates from offices in London, Birmingham, Bristol, Cheltenham, Chester, Chichester, Dorset, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow, Guernsey, Manchester, Newcastle, Northwich and Winchester.