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Robeco & Harbor getting bought out

NumbersGal
edited February 2013 in Fund Discussions
According to MutualFUndWire.com onTuesday, September 04, 2012,

"Harbor Could Sell By October
Watch for Harbor Capital Advisors [profile] to change hands this fall. In an update to the ongoing efforts by Rabobank's [profile] to sell its asset management arm, bids for Robeco Group NV, which also owns Chicago-based mutual fund shop Harbor, are due by mid-September, and a deal could be reached as early as October.

P&I reports that the Netherlands' largest retail bank has focused on buyers willing to bid for the entirety of Robeco. Robeco's investment management teams include two boutique asset managers in the U.S., value equities manager Robeco Boston Partners and core quantitative equity manager Robeco Weiss, Peck & Greer. Robeco Group also holds a 100 percent interest in Harbor. Robeco overall boasts $234 billion in AUM as of July 31 and could sell for more than $2 billion, according to some estimates....."

According to Robeco's press release of Feb 19,2013,
"ORIX acquires Robeco

19 February 2013 - ORIX Corporation (ORIX), Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A., (Rabobank) and Robeco Groep N.V., (Robeco) announce that ORIX is acquiring approximately 90.01% of the equity in Robeco from Rabobank, for EUR 1,935 million (JPY 240.2 billion)."

NO indication as to whether or not ORIX will leave the Robeco and Harbor funds as no load.

Comments

  • TedTed
    FYI: Here is the Mutual Fund Wire.Com article.
    Regards,
    Ted
    http://www.mutualfundwire.com/common/artprint2007.asp?storyID=43078&wireid=2
  • msf
    Here, in turn, is the Harbor Funds statement, only partially quoted in the Mutual Fund Wire.com article: http://www.harborfunds.com/18065.htm

    Keep in mind that Harbor funds are all(?) submanaged, and the management companies they hire seem to be agnostic with respect to whether the funds are load or noload. So the day-to-day management (which likely won't change) isn't going to be demanding that sales be pushed via commissioned salespeople.

    For example, Harbor International (HAINX, HIINX, HRINX) is managed by Northern Cross. This is the company started by Hakan Castegren, and continued admirably by others after his passing. Castegren originally managed Ivy Int'l II (a load fund) and Harbor Int'l (no load) as virtual clones. He dropped Ivy (in 2000) only when Ivy declined to close the fund as it was growing too large - not because it was a load fund.

    In a somewhat similar vein, Harbor Bond is managed by Bill Gross, who also seems agnostic about loads (e.g. PIMCO Total Return A shares have about 50% more in assets than PIMCO Total Return D shares, though the lion's share is in the institutional class).
  • InvestorInvestor
    It was also covered in latest M* Fund Times:

    http://news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?id=586026

    "The deal is expected to be completed within six months."
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