Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – After divesting its fund management arm Carnegie Fonder under the umbrella of Altor-owned asset management group Carneo in 2016, Nordic investment bank Carnegie – also owned by private equity firm Altor – now intends to acquire Carneo’s Carnegie Fonder, Holberg Fondsforvaltning and CAAM Fund Services, with the latter overseeing the hedge funds and alternative funds managed under the brands of Nordic Cross and Alternative Solutions.

As a result of the acquisition, Carnegie Holding will complement its three existing business areas of Investment Banking, Private Banking and Securities with a fourth business area – Asset Management, which will comprise two separate companies: Carnegie Fonder and Norwegian fund company Holberg. The funds included in CAAM Fund Services, managed under the brands Nordic Cross and Alternative Solutions, will be acquired by their sister company Carnegie Fonder. “The process of Carnegie Fonder acquiring the Nordic Cross funds and Carnegie Holding acquiring Carnegie Fonder, Holberg and CAAM are two different processes, however they will run in parallel,” says Anna Tropp, Head of Communications at Carneo.

According to a press release by Swedish hedge fund boutique Nordic Cross, Carneo intends to merge its Swedish fund management operations into one company. “The hope is that the funds will have better growth opportunities in a company with a stronger brand and more established distribution channels,” writes Nordic Cross. “The funds will continue to be managed by the Nordic Cross team until Finansinspektionen approves Carnegie Fonder as the new fund manager.” According to Anna Tropp, “Carnegie Fonder will acquire the Nordic Cross funds but the personnel will not automatically be transferred. There are currently processes running in order to decide on the staffing once the funds have landed in their new home.” The Nordic Cross funds will get Carnegie names once transferred.

“Carnegie Fonder will acquire the Nordic Cross funds but the personnel will not automatically be transferred. There are currently processes running in order to decide on the staffing once the funds have landed in their new home.”

Carneo, founded to become a one-stop asset management shop for Nordic investors, was founded in 2016 by Swedish private equity firm Altor by bringing together Carnegie Fonder and C WorldWide. Carneo has been operating a multi-boutique structure by housing five investment firms as affiliates under one roof. The asset manager oversaw SEK 370 billion in assets under management at the end of 2021 across C WorldWide, Carnegie Fonder, Holberg, hedge fund manager Nordic Cross, and alternative fund manager Alternative Solutions.

“We do not do this because of synergies, but to build a bigger and stronger company with more resources.”

Altor-owned investment bank Carnegie divested Carnegie Fonder back in 2016 due to “limited business synergies with other operations.” Carnegie’s new asset management business area will operate at an arms’ length from Carnegie Investment Bank, meaning that Carnegie Fonder and Holberg will continue to operate independently under their respective brands. “We do not do this because of synergies, but to build a bigger and stronger company with more resources,” Björn Jansson, the CEO of Carnegie Investment Bank, tells Dagens Industri. “What will be better is that we get a more diversified revenue stream that makes us a more stable company.”

“We will build an even stronger Carnegie Group with more diversified revenue streams which still are very close to our DNA.”

“We will build an even stronger Carnegie Group with more diversified revenue streams which still are very close to our DNA,” says Björn Jansson in a press release. “Both Carnegie Investment Bank and the asset management companies we are acquiring have strong market positions in the Nordic market with an ambition to deliver first-class products and services to our clients.” The acquisitions will close only after approval by the regulatory authorities, which is expected to occur within six months.

“This is a deal that has been discussed for a long time, and for us it is undramatic,” says Andreas Uller, the CEO of Carnegie Fonder. “We have been part of Carnegie Holding before, we share the same brand and we have had good business relations with the bank for a long time,” he continues. “Even with Carnegie as owner, we will continue to create real value for both shareholders and shareholders with first-class management and customer care.”