Dollars at Dawn? Victory Capital Duels With Peltz’s Trian for Janus Henderson

Not only does money never sleep, it seldom gets a break between rounds. No sooner did Netflix officially concede to Paramount Skydance in a multibillion-dollar sparring match over Warner Bros. Discovery on Thursday than another bidding war muscled its way into the spotlight. 

The San Antonio investment firm Victory Capital started a Texas-style duel with billionaire Nelson Peltz’s Trian, making what it called a “clearly superior” bid for transatlantic asset management giant Janus Henderson, which Trian agreed to acquire just two months ago.

Sign of the Asset Management Times

A bidding war for Janus Henderson is no surprise, given the state of asset management. For years, investors have turned away from active mutual funds with higher fees, choosing instead to invest in cheaper passive ETFs and index funds offered by the likes of BlackRock and Vanguard. To buttress themselves against the resulting outflows, many traditional asset managers have pursued consolidation. US asset manager Nuveen, for instance, agreed to acquire the UK’s Schroders in a $13.5 billion deal earlier this month.

Hence, the appeal of Janus Henderson. The transatlantic giant was formed in 2017 to address this very problem. London’s Henderson Group and Colorado’s Janus Capital, both grappling with investors decamping for low-cost passive products, saw a chance to scale up, cut overlapping costs, and expand their geographic footprint. While the combined firm struggled for years with outflows, it turned that around last year. Peltz’s Trian and its partner General Catalyst swept in before Christmas, agreeing to buy Janus for $7.4 billion, or $49 a share in cash. On Thursday, however, Victory Capital went public with what it says is a better deal: 

• Victory offered Janus Henderson shareholders a total of $57.04 a share, $30 in cash and the rest in common stock. David Brown, the chairman of Victory, said its offer represents a 16% premium over Trian’s.
• Victory is no stranger to acquisitions, having added $100 billion in assets under management last year with the purchase of Pioneer, the US arm of France’s Amundi.

Catalyst Constraint: Janus said it received and will consider Victory’s proposal, while there is no word from Trian yet. But if the deal falls through, the bigger impact may rest with its partner, General Catalyst. The venture capital firm has worked diligently to expand beyond its origins, buying a hospital system and starting a wealth management business, as executives have reportedly considered an initial public offering. No Janus would mean one less diversified business under the umbrella for the IPO.