British investment management company Schroders PLC has agreed to acquire Swiss private equity firm Adveq Management, which has around $7 billion in assets under management, for an undisclosed amount.
Market maker: Private equity has been one of the few missing strategies at Schroders, a FTSE 100 firm with a whopping $465 billion in AUM. So this helps it fill out the asset cupboard, while also helping Adveq expand well beyond its mostly Swiss and German client base (Adveq is expected to keep its entire team and global investment strategy).
Broader context: There is an accelerating trend of private equity firms becoming acquisition targets themselves, either for total control of minority stakes.