US investment bank Evercore Partners has announced the acquisition of a 49 per cent interest in Atalanta Sosnoff Capital, a New York-based independent investment advisor.

Under the terms of the purchase agreement Evercore will pay $69 million in cash, with the potential for earn out payments based on 2010 performance of up to $14.7 million, for the interest.

Following the close of the transaction Atalanta's management team will own 51 per cent of the company, which will be governed by Martin Sosnoff, chief executive, Craig Steinberg, president, and three Evercore designees. The firm’s investment processes and day-to-day operations will remain unchanged.

Founded in 1981, Atalanta is focused on managing large-cap equity and balanced accounts. It manages over $10 billion of assets for institutional, high net worth and broker-advised clients.

“This acquisition is consistent with our strategy of partnering with exceptional investment firms, which manage high value added products and have significant equity ownership by management. Consistent with our financial discipline, the transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings,” said Ralph Schlosstein, Evercore's president and CEO.