Crestview Partners has announced that it will acquire Victory Capital Management from KeyCorp for $246 million.
Once completed, the acquisition will make Victory an independent firm with the senior management team, portfolio managers and other employees owning a "significant amount" of company shares, according to a press release. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter.
Chief executive officer David Brown and president Christopher Ohmacht will continue leading Victory. They will be appointed to the company's new board of directors, along with two representatives from Crestview and three independent directors.
Following the sale, Victory will maintain its current brand name and remain headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, with offices in New York, Cincinnati, Denver and Tampa, Fla. The firm will also continue operating with nine autonomous investment teams, each with its own authority to make investment decisions.
In a press release, Brown stated, "This new ownership structure will preserve our successful multi-boutique operating model and provide an opportunity for real equity ownership to our employees that will align our interests with those of our clients, today and well into the future."
Victory managed $22.1 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2012. Institutional assets under management on that date totaled $14.7 billion, while retail assets totaled $7.4 billion.
New York-based Crestview holds $4 billion of capital under management. The firm is no stranger to the mutual fund space having acquired Munder Capital, which manages approximately $15 billion in separate accounts, mutual funds and retirement-oriented investment strategies.
