Two of the best-known business dynasties in Europe and the US will come
together after Lord Jacob Rothschild’s listed investment trust and Rockefeller Financial
Services agreed to form a strategic partnership.
RIT Capital Partners is to buy a 37 per
cent stake in the Rockefeller’s wealth advisory and asset management group for
an undisclosed sum, giving Lord Rothschild’s London-listed trust a much
sought-after foothold in the US.
The transatlantic union brings together David Rockefeller, 96, and Lord
Rothschild, 76 – two family patriarchs whose personal relationship spans five
decades.
The Rockefeller group traces its roots back to 1882 when John D.
Rockefeller established one of the world’s first family offices dedicated to
investing his wealth. It has since developed into a provider of wealth and
asset management services to other families, foundations and institutions. It
is majority-owned by the 19th century oil magnate’s family and has $34bn of
assets under administration.
The partnership with RIT will focus on setting up investment funds, eyeing
joint acquisitions of wealth and asset managers and granting each other
non-executive directorships.
RIT Capital Partners is minority-owned by Lord Rothschild and its net assets of £1.9bn are spread across global investments from public equities to government bonds and private equity.
The deal stemmed from a meeting two years ago when Mr Rockefeller
introduced Lord Rothschild to the US group’s chief executive, Reuben Jeffery.
In a follow-up meeting one year later at Lord Rothschild’s office at
Spencer House in London, the financier won Mr Jeffery’s blessing for opening
talks to buy a stake in the Rockefeller group.
He then launched long negotiations with Société Générale Private Banking, which
has owned the shareholding since 2008.
The French bank’s wealth management arm has had several suitors for the
minority stake – estimated to be worth less than £100m – but Lord Rothschild
was the only one supported by the Rockefellers.
Lord Rothschild concentrated on RIT Capital Partners three decades ago
after he fell out with his cousin Sir Evelyn de Rothschild and disposed of his
stake in NM Rothschild, the family’s UK branch.
Sir Evelyn at the time ran NM Rothschild, which rose to fame in 1815 when
Nathan Meyer Rothschild made a fortune buying British government bonds in
anticipation of Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo.
Baron David de Rothschild, chairman of the Rothschild Group, is currently
bringing the UK-based investment bank under a joint roof with the French
family operations.
At the same time Lord Rothschild launched an
investment partnership in
March with the Franco-Swiss private bank Edmond de Rothschild Group, which is
yet another separate branch of the sprawling banking dynasty.
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