Deutsche Bank and UFG Asset Management have agreed to create a strategic partnership and business co-operation in Russia.
Deutsche Bank and UFG Asset Management have agreed to create a strategic partnership and business co-operation in Russia. Through its asset management division, Deutsche will acquire a 40 per cent stake in UFG Invest, the group’s Russian investment management company, with an option to take full ownership in the future.
In addition, both parties are working toward the acquisition by Deutsche of a strategic minority stake in UFG Advisors, a hedge fund management company specialising in Russian securities and serving institutional and high net worth investors.
Deutsche’s existing asset management business in Russia, DWS Investments (Russia), will be combined with UFG Invest under the brand of Deutsche UFG Capital Management. The financial terms of the transaction, which is expected to be completed by the end of this year, have not been disclosed.
With assets under management exceeding EUR400m at the end of June, UFG Invest is ranked among the top 10 Russian asset managers, with a product range including investment funds and discretionary portfolio management for private and institutional clients.
‘Deutsche Bank acted early to become a leading player in top tier financial services in Russia, a market we see growing over the long term,’ says Igor Lojevsky, chief country officer and chief executive of Deutsche Bank Russia. ‘The acquisition of UFG’s investment banking business in 2004 was a decisive step in that process, and today’s transaction further strengthens our role in Russia.’
DWS Europe head Stephan Kunze says: ‘The agreement is the result of a careful process of exploring opportunities to strengthen our foothold in the Russian market, one of the most exciting growth economies in the world. Joining forces with UFG will help us to enhance our global structure and international expertise.’
Boris Fedorov, senior managing partner of UFG Asset Management, says: ‘It is a mark of the company’s strength that we have not only taken a leading position in the Russian market but are now able to lift the company to an international level with a new partner as strong as Deutsche Bank.’
A managing partner of the firm, Florian Fenner, adds: ‘We will be able to offer clients a wider spectrum of investment products and the opportunity to use a diverse investment strategy. The partnership confirms our confidence in the prospects of the financial market in Russia and in the opportunity to increase market share significantly in the next three years.’
