GAM said on 29 June it has entered into definitive agreements to sell its loss-making third-party fund management services businesses in Luxembourg and Switzerland to Carne Group. 

The GAM Board said in the statement they "believes that the Transactions are in the interests of all stakeholders of GAM and represent the implementation of an important part of the Board's strategic review". 

The purchase price, which reflects the reduced assets under management and loss-making nature of the FMS Businesses, is €2.25m for the Luxembourg business and CHF0.5m for the Swiss business, both subject to adjustment based on revenue run rates at closing. 

In addition, CHF12.1m of regulatory capital will be released and retained by GAM, resulting in a total financial benefit to GAM of approximately CHF15m. 

The AuM of the FMS Businesses totalled CHF 48.4bn as at 31 March 2023. 

After deducting client notified losses the AuM as at 31 May 2023 totalled CHF36.4bn. The current run rate revenues, taking into account these client notified losses, is approximately CHF10.25m per annum. 

The transactions are expected to close during the fourth quarter 2023. 

While the sale of the FMS Businesses to Carne Group does not require shareholder approval, the transactions are subject to customary conditions for such transactions, including regulatory approvals.

This is a material step towards fulfilling a condition of the offer from Liontrust Asset Management for all of GAM's publicly held shares, it further said.

The GAM Board unanimously recommended Liontrust's offer to shareholders; the enlarged business is expected to have a strong balance sheet, a broader array of excellent investment products, and a global distribution footprint from which to deliver growth, in which shareholders can participate in the future. 

The Liontrust offer is also strongly supported by the senior portfolio managers of GAM, the statement added. 

Peter Sanderson, CEO of GAM said: "As a loss-making business with a material regulatory capital requirement, irrespective of the Liontrust offer, we have been exploring options for the FMS Businesses for some time now. 

"Agreeing to sell them to Carne Group marks an important strategic step for GAM and will allow clients to benefit from uninterrupted service from one of Europe's leading providers. 

"We conducted an extensive process to find a suitable solution and are confident that this sale to Carne Group is the best possible outcome for all our stakeholders."