Industry

AMVESCAP of London announced it has entered into an agreement to purchase County Investment Management, an Australian institutional asset, from the National Australia Bank of Melbourne for approximately $60.47 million. County Investment Management has over $7.5 billion in assets under management. The deal, which is pending Australian regulatory approval, is expected to be completed early in 2001, according to the announcement.

When the Firstar Corporation of Milwaukee completes its acquisition of U.S. Bancorp of Minneapolis, the combined asset management unit will have approximately $50 billion in mutual fund assets under management, according to Strategic Insight of New York. So what can be expected once the merger is completed? Further expansion, according to Thomas Schreier, the asset management unit's newly-appointed CEO.

Mutual Fund Investment Trust of New York has filed a proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking to merge the H&Q IPO & Emerging Company Fund, a series of Hambrecht & Quist Fund Trust of San Francisco, with Mutual Fund Investment Trust's newly-created Chase Vista H&Q IPO & Emerging Company Fund. The Hambrecht & Quist Group was recently acquired by The Chase Manhattan Bank of New York.

Centurion Funds of Phoenix, Ariz. has filed a proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking to do a one-for-three reverse split in its Centurion U.S. Contra Fund.

Overseas buyers of U.S. asset managers have pushed the number and prices of mergers and acquisitions to record levels this year.

Legg Mason of Baltimore has announced it will acquire 100 percent of the privately-held stock of Barrett Associates of New York for an undisclosed amount over the next five years. Nine of Barrett's principals, as well as John D. Barrett, II, the firm's chairman and CEO, will stay on under long-term agreements each has signed, Legg Mason said in a statement.

Kemper Funds of Chicago has filed a proxy with the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking to merge three of its funds with the Kemper Total Return Fund as part of the firm's initiative to change its name in 2001 to Zurich Scudder Investments.

Banque Arjil et Cie of Paris will sell its entire stake of ABF Capital Management to the asset management firm's founding partners and Credit Lyonnais Asset Management, both of Paris, the companies announced.

First Union of Charlotte, N.C. combined its institutional investment group, First Capital Group, with Evergreen Investments, also of Charlotte, and changed its name to Evergreen Institutional Asset Management Dec. 1. The action combined the retail mutual fund and institutional asset management divisions of First Union under a single name, according to Chad Peterson, spokesperson for Evergreen Institutional Asset Management.

Pilgrim Mutual Funds of Scottsdale, Ariz. has filed a proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking to merge its Pilgrim Global Income Fund into the Pilgrim Strategic Income Fund.