NEW YORK (AFX) - Billionaire investor Wilbur L. Ross Jr. agreed Sunday to sell the investment company he founded six years ago to British investment company AMVESCAP PLC, aiming to expand into new capital markets overseas.
As part of the deal, WL Ross & Co. LLC will take over the private equity business of Invesco Private Capital, with Ross managing those investments. Combined, the entities will control about $6.8 billion in assets. Ross now manages about $3.5 billion in assets.
The deal is valued at as much as $375 million, with an initial payment of $100 million and five additional annual cash payments up to $55 million based on earnings.
'This is a deal of opportunity,' Ross said Sunday in a telephone interview. 'We haven't had any trouble raising capital but there are a lot of markets where we haven't raised capital from.'
Ross made a fortune in recent years buying up assets of numerous troubled steel companies and slashing costs before selling them to others. His largest such deal was in selling his International Steel Group Inc. -- a conglomeration of steel assets from LTV Corp., Bethlehem Steel Corp. and others -- to Mittal Steel Co. last year for $4.5 billion.
He also played an integral role in Mittal's recent deal to acquire Arcelor SA.
Ross also has made several large investments in coal, textiles, auto parts suppliers and financial services companies.
Most recently, he has been taking strategic positions in financially troubled auto parts suppliers with a goal of building a successful
Ross and Martin L. Flanagan, AMVESCAP's president and CEO, said the deal will not alter Ross' investment strategies or priorities. Under London-based AMVESCAP, the firm is likely to expand its investments in overseas markets.
'There's not going to be Big Brother looking over anybody's shoulders,' Ross said. 'We don't anticipate any change.'
In March, a Ross unit acquired a portion of auto supplier Collins & Aikman Corp.'s European business for an undisclosed amount. Last week, Lear Corp. sold its European car interiors business to Ross' International Automotive Components Group in exchange for an equity stake.
IACG is a joint venture between WL Ross & Co. and Franklin Mutual Advisers LLC, part of Franklin Resources Inc. Flanagan is a former co-CEO of Franklin Resources.
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