Lehman Brothers is acquiring LightPoint Capital Management, a leveraged loan investment manager with around USD3.2bn in assets under management that will become an integral part of Lehman
Lehman Brothers is acquiring LightPoint Capital Management, a leveraged loan investment manager with around USD3.2bn in assets under management that will become an integral part of Lehman Brothers Asset Management. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
‘The acquisition of LightPoint Capital Management will broaden our client offerings to include leveraged loans,’ says Joseph V. Amato, a Lehman Brothers managing director and global head of asset management. ‘Adding capabilities and talent are critical as we continue to build out our global asset management offerings.’
Founded in 2002, Chicago-based LightPoint (the firm also has offices in London and Paris) manages a series of collateralised loan obligation vehicles, using a research-based approach to create well-diversified portfolios. As part of the transaction, LightPoint chief executive Thomas A. Kramer will join Lehman Brothers Asset Management as a managing director.
Together with Ann Benjamin, Kramer will co-head leveraged finance within the asset management business. As head of the LBAM high yield team since 1997, Benjamin has helped grow the business to approximately USD6bn in assets under management. In their new roles, Benjamin and Kramer will report to global head of fixed income asset management Brad Tank.
‘LightPoint has developed a strong franchise managing debt securities directly and through structured vehicles that has generated superior returns for our investors,’ Kramer says. ‘Lehman Brothers’ scale, resources, strength and diversification among fixed-income asset classes, combined with LightPoint’s first rate team and expertise in leveraged assets, will result in an array of financial solutions for our clients.’
The LightPoint team, including 20 investment professionals in Chicago and London and lead loan portfolio manager Tim Van Kirk, will also join Lehman Brothers Asset Management, where they will work closely with Tom O’Reilly as lead portfolio manager in high yield and Patrick Flynn as head of leveraged finance research for the group.
‘Tom Kramer and his highly experienced team have demonstrated sustained excellence in leveraged loan investing, and we look forward to working with them to deliver value to our clients,’ Tank says. ‘We see great opportunities to continue to build this business in the Americas as well as in the fast-growing European loan market.’
Kramer has more than two decades of investment industry experience and was managing director and head of North American leveraged finance for ABN Amro Bank before leaving to start LightPoint.
LBAM is one of three businesses within Lehman Brothers’ Investment Management division alongside private investment management, which offers investment, wealth advisory and capital markets execution services for high net worth individuals and businesses, and private equity, which provides investment opportunities for institutional and qualified individual investors. Investment management division assets under management totalled USD263bn at the end of May, including fixed-income and money market assets of about USD114bn.
