Mattioli Woods has cancelled its option to buy a 51 per cent stake in asset management firm Amati.
Mattioli Woods already owns 49 per cent of boutique fund house Amati, which specialises in smaller company investing, and had an option to purchase the remaining shares.
But in an announcement this morning (19 June) Amati stated that it has agreed with Mattioli Woods to buy out the option for £750,000.
Mattioli Woods purchased 49 per cent of Amati in 2017, in a deal that included an option for the former to buy the rest of Amati, with the option taking effect from February 6, 2019 and running for two years.
Since Mattioli Woods’ initial investment, Amati has performed strongly and seen funds under management grow from £120m to about £430m, and the TB Amati UK Smaller Companies fund has been rated by three major fund research houses – Morningstar, RSM and FE Analytics.
Paul Joudan, chief executive and founder of Amati, said: "This completes an important strategic move for the business, which we believe will provide a strong underpinning for future growth.
"The agreement in February arose from detailed discussions over many months, and we were highly appreciative of the way in which Mattioli Woods entered into a spirit of partnership with us having recognised the merits of the current ownership structure."
Ian Mattioli, chief executive of Mattioli Woods, said his firm was happy to retain the 49 per cent of Amati it already owns.
He said: "Amati is an excellent fund manager that is growing well and sustainably in difficult markets. Given the success of the current arrangement over the last two years, I believe the group retaining our 49 per cent interest in the joint venture offers the optimal structure for all its stakeholders."
In addition, as part of the previously announced transaction, Mattioli Woods agreed that Amati should maintain the policy it adopted at inception of giving 10 per cent of profits to UK registered charities
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