Brookfield reaches agreement to acquire 62% of Oaktree Capital

Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management Inc. will acquire approximately 62% of Los Angeles-based Oaktree Capital Group, LLC, the firms announced Wednesday.

Brookfield will acquire all outstanding Oaktree Class A units for either $49.00 in cash or 1.0770 Class A shares of Brookfield per unit. This represents a premium of 12.4% per Oaktree Class A unit, based on the price of Oaktree Class A units and Brookfield Class A shares at the close of business Tuesday.

Both Brookfield and Oaktree will continue to operate their respective businesses independently, the firms said in a statement, “partnering to leverage their strengths.” Each will remain under its current brand and leadership.

Howard Marks will remain Oaktree’s co-chairman, Bruce Karsh will remain co‑chairman and chief investment officer, and Jay Wintrob will remain chief executive officer. Marks and Karsh will continue to have operating control of Oaktree as an independent entity, and Marks will join Brookfield’s board of directors.

The two companies together will have approximately $475 billion of assets under management and $2.5 billion of annual fee-related revenues, making them one of the largest alternative asset managers in the world, the firms said. The transaction is expected to be accretive to Brookfield on a per share basis, before any benefits from the combination.

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