The Argentinean shareholders of Raymond James Argentina and RJ Delta Asset Management announced today that they have reached an agreement with Raymond James South American Holdings Inc.’s (Raymond James) to acquire all of the shares of both companies.
Raymond James Argentina S.A. has been rebranded as AR Partners S.A,. while RJ Delta Asset Management S.A. has been renamed Delta Asset Management S.A.
Eduardo Tapia, former President of Raymond James Argentina acquired control of AR Partners and will continue as President of the company.
Gabriel Ruiz, former President of RJ Delta Asset Management and current President of Delta Asset Management and Christian Cavanagh, former Chief Investment Officer at RJ Delta Asset Management and present Director of Delta Asset Management, collectively acquired controlling interest in Delta Asset Management.
For his part, Eduardo Tapia has increased his shareholding a pro-rata and continues to be a board member of Delta Asset Management. The changes detailed above do not imply alterations in the current management structures and do not affect the operations of the companies, which will continue to operate freely and independently from each other.
Raymond James came to Argentina in 1998, partnering with Tapia, to be the company that would take over for Caspian Securities, a pioneer in emerging markets, recognized for its quality research and proven track record in corporate finance.
Raymond James Argentina had as purpose to provide securities services, corporate finance, financial advising and research in Argentina. The joint venture, in which Raymond James held a controlling interest while placing the strategic management in the hands of the Argentine partner, has maintained a strong track record over the past 18 years. Raymond James Argentina – headed by Eduardo Tapia – has been a leader in the Argentine equity market, participating in 65 percent of the IPOs & Follow-on Offerings of Argentine companies, participating in financial transactions in exceed of USD 8 billion dollars. Its Research team has been recognized by institutional foreign investors as the best in Argentina on numerous occasions.
In 2005, Raymond James and Eduardo Tapia partnered with Gabriel Ruiz, senior executive of the Asset Management unit of the Santander Group, to create RJ Delta Asset Management, a company that would provide Asset Management services. In 2008, Cavanagh, senior executive of the Asset Management unit of the BBVA Group, was invited to join as a Partner and Chief Investment Officer.
Delta Asset Management, headed by Gabriel Ruiz and Christian Cavanagh, is one of the leading independent asset managers in Argentina, with 13.5 billion pesos in assets under management and more than 10.000 customer accounts, held by corporations, institutions and individuals. The company has received many accolades since inception and continues to be one of the top asset management firms in Argentina. Recently the international rating agency Standard & Poor’s named RJ Delta Asset Management among the “Top Managers” in the local market.
This acquisition reflects both the positive expectations of the buyers in the Argentine capital market and their trust in the quality of the operations that local management has successfully led since its inception. This transaction is part of the long-term strategies of the local companies. The acquiring partners view this as a reaffirmation of their commitment to the Argentine capital markets. As they continue to lead the companies, they are very optimistic of its long term prospects.
“We are beginning this journey with plenty of optimism, as this acquisition will allow us to take full advantage of the opportunities we believe the new Argentine marketplace will offer. We expect strong development in the financial services sector, where there are high expectations for the repatriation of the capital market which has moved abroad over the last two decades. We thank Raymond James for these years of successful partnership” said Eduardo Tapia.
“We believe the asset management industry and particularly the mutual fund sector has great growth potential, which we think will be sustained by a strong increase in savings among Argentine and foreign investors in the domestic market. We will continue to be leaders and innovators in the industry, thanks to the professionalism of our team, our outstanding performance and the quality of our products. We thank Raymond James for being a great partner that accompanied our growth, since we launched RJ Delta Asset Management 11 years ago”, Gabriel Ruiz explained. In a statement from Raymond James, they express their gratitude to the acquiring partners and to all associates for their outstanding work and accomplishments as well as the strong relationship that was built over the last 18 years.
To the date, the transaction has been communicated to argentine regulatory agencies.
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