Azimut expands into Australia. Through its Luxembourg subsidiary AZ International, the Italian company acquired 51% of Sigma Funds Management, an Australian equity manager specializing in the "value" style. The remaining 49% will remain in the hands of the current management of the company.
The transaction will be carried out through a deferred capital increase aimed at covering Sigma's working capital up to a cumulative value of 2,1 million Australian dollars (1,4 million euros), which will be used to finance the business plan. The binding purchase agreement aims to create an asset management partnership in Australia.
Sigma, established in August 2009 by 6 ex-Credit Suisse founding partners, has an investment team with an average of 22 years' experience in Australian small and large cap equities. Sigma manages 3 investment strategies for institutional clients and has assets of approximately 70 million Australian dollars (equal to 47 million euros) at the end of March 2016.
As for funding, the Azimut group recorded a positive figure of 626 million euros in March, reaching 1,7 billion in the first quarter of the year (+30% compared to the first quarter of 2015).
