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$1B+ US asset management deal space off to strong start in 2022

Following a strong first quarter, 2022 is on pace to have the most billion-dollar U.S. asset management M&A deals since at least 2017, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

Strong start in Q1

There were two deals worth over $1 billion announced in the first quarter of 2022, which has the U.S. asset management deal space on pace to blow past the five deals worth over $1 billion that were announced in 2021.

This year is also on pace to surpass last year's $10.75 billion in aggregate deal value from billion-dollar deals as the two deals announced in the first quarter had a combined value of $2.8 billion.

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Over the past five years, 2020 had the most $1 billion-plus U.S. asset management deal announcements with six, a figure that is also on pace to be surpassed in 2022.

AllianceBernstein deal announced

Asset manager AllianceBernstein LP's $1.4 billion announced acquisition of global private alternatives investment manager CarVal Investors LP in March was the second billion-dollar U.S. asset management M&A deal announced in 2022.

During a call regarding the deal, AllianceBernstein executive Matthew Bass said the acquisition of CarVal will expand its alternatives business while also filling "key gaps" in areas including opportunistic and distressed credit, renewable energy, specialty finance and transportation.

Bass also said that once the deal is completed, AllianceBernstein "will now have a $49 billion private markets platform."

UBS Group AG's $1.4 billion acquisition of Wealthfront Corp., which was announced in January, was the other billion-dollar U.S. asset management M&A deal announced in 2022.

The AllianceBernstein-CarVal and UBS-Wealthfront deals are tied for the fifth-largest asset management M&A deal since the start of 2021, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

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Large deals dominated October 2021

Of the four largest deals, three were announced in a 15-day span.

Blue Owl Capital Inc. announced its $1.6 billion acquisition of Oak Street Real Estate Capital LLC on Oct. 18, 2021.

Ten days later, T. Rowe Price Group Inc. announced its $4.22 billion acquisition of Oak Hill Advisors LP, and four days after that deal, Franklin Resources Inc. announced its $1.75 billion acquisition of Lexington Partners LP.

The T. Rowe-Oak Hill deal stands as the largest U.S. asset management deal announced since the start of 2021.

Oak Hill's $52.81 billion in assets under management at the time of the deal was the second-largest AUM for any target involved in a U.S. asset management deal since the start of 2021, trailing the $603 billion in AUM that was held by Wells Fargo Asset Management when it was announced the company would be acquired by GTCR LLC and Reverence Capital Partners LLC in February 2021.