Acquisition of fixed income assets

Impax to acquire fixed income assets and expand portfolio management team in agreement with Copenhagen-based Formuepleje

London, 9 January 2024 - Impax Asset Management Group plc, ("Impax"), the specialist asset manager investing in the transition to a more sustainable economy, announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary Impax Asset Management Ireland Limited ("Impax Ireland") has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Absalon Corporate Credit ("Absalon"), a fixed income manager, the completion of which is subject to certain closing conditions.

Absalon, which is part of the Formuepleje Group, based in Copenhagen, Denmark, serves European institutional investors and Danish high net worth individuals. As of 31 December 2023, Absalon had approximately £351 million (€405 million) of assets under management.

The Absalon team manages two fixed income strategies in Global High Yield (launched in 2006) and Emerging Market Corporate Debt (launched in 2010), which are available as Luxembourg-based SICAV funds ("SICAV Funds") and as Danish-based funds ("Danish Funds"). The team was established by Klaus Blaabjerg, who, along with three portfolio management colleagues, is joining Impax as part of the acquisition. Each member of the team has more than 15 years of experience and the team has worked together for more than 10 years.

Impax Ireland has entered into an asset purchase agreement with the Formuepleje Group, an existing client and distribution partner of Impax, with respect to the acquisition. The consideration is not disclosed.

Following completion of the acquisition, the Absalon portfolio managers will become part of Impax's growing fixed income team, reporting to Ross Pamphilon, who in October 2023 was appointed as Impax's Head of Fixed Income. The existing Impax fixed income team, which is based in the United States, currently runs US Investment Grade and US High Yield fixed income funds that are distributed to investors in North America. Post the acquisition, the combined global team will have pro forma fixed income assets under management and advice of approximately £1.6 billion (€1.8 billion) as of 31 December 2023.

Upon completion of the acquisition, it is planned that Impax Ireland, acting through a newly established Danish branch, will become the management company, investment manager and distributor of the former Absalon SICAV Funds, which are intended to become part of Impax's Ireland-based UCITS range. This is subject to SICAV Funds Board, shareholder and regulatory approval. Upon completion of the acquisition, and subject to fund shareholder and regulatory approval, it is also planned that Impax Ireland, acting through a newly established Danish branch, will become the sub-investment manager of the Danish Funds, for which Formuepleje will continue to act as the management company and distributor.

Ian Simm, Founder and Chief Executive, Impax, said: "This is an important step in the continued enhancement of our fixed income offering, which we have identified as a strategic priority as we aim to provide a wider range of solutions to our clients who are seeking to allocate to the transition to a more sustainable economy. The addition of this highly experienced team of credit managers, with a successful track record, will complement our existing fixed income capabilities, particularly in high yield. We value highly our 15-year relationship with Formuepleje, and we are delighted to use this opportunity to expand the partnership."

Klaus Blaabjerg, Managing Director, Absalon Corporate Credit, said: "We are excited by the opportunity to join the Impax team and leverage the firm's extensive resources dedicated to investing in the transition to a more sustainable economy. This is particularly important given that our funds are now categorized as Article 8 under SFDR. We believe that the credit markets are inefficient, which leaves many attractive opportunities for disciplined investors. We will continue to exploit these inefficiencies by actively selecting undervalued credits with high spreads relative to credit quality and default risk. We look forward to building on our successful track record and continuing to maintain our successful relationship with the Formuepleje team."

Peter Kjærgaard, CEO at Formuepleje, commented: "We are pleased to continue our close relationship with the Absalon Corporate Credit team through this agreement with Impax. Absalon Corporate Credit has a distinctive investment philosophy which is rooted in its academic research and the unique and experienced investment team. We look forward to continuing to provide their two strategies to our clients and as an integrated part of our funds."

Absalon Corporate Credit is an investment management firm focused on credit, serving European institutional investors and Danish high net worth individuals. Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, it has approximately €405 million of assets under management and advice (as of 31 December 2023) and is part of the Formuepleje Group. Absalon Corporate Credit has an active bottom-up bond selection philosophy. Looking beyond index weightings it instead focuses on identifying undervalued bonds irrespective of their sector or geography. The team manages two funds: Absalon Global High Yield and Absalon Emerging Markets Corporate Debt.

About Formuepleje

Formuepleje is one of Denmark's largest independent asset managers with more than 35 years of experience in developing optimal investment solutions. Our investment concept focuses on risk-adjusted returns. This means that we invest with the purpose to achieve the highest possible return with as little a risk as possible. The total amount of assets under management is more than €9.1 billion and the customer base is around 18,000. Formuepleje employs more than 100 people in offices in Aarhus and Copenhagen.

1 Full-time equivalent