The acquisition reflects Pacific's commitment to investing in high-quality specialist investment teams and expanding its offering across public markets.

London-based Pacific Asset Management, which manages over £18.4 billion ($24.7 billion) of assets, has acquired Asset Value Investors (AVI), an activist investor and investment trust manager. PAM, which is owned by Australia's Pinnacle Investment Management, will become the institutional partner to AVI through the acquisition of 100 per cent of AVI’s share capital. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The arrangement brings together two complementary investment management businesses, with Pacific's institutional infrastructure, technology, operational capabilities and investor support platform, underpinning AVI’s bottom-up stock selection style, which aims to find mis-priced companies trading below their net asset value.

AVI’s CEO and CIO, Joe Bauernfreund, joined the firm in 2002, which has £2.1 billion of assets under management, and is the sole manager of the AVI Global Trust and AVI Japan Opportunity Trust as well as a number of funds and segregated accounts.

Under Bauernfreund, AVI has become a known European activist investor and is the investment manager to three London listed investment trusts: AVI Global Trust, AVI Japan Opportunity Trust and MIGO Opportunities Trust. The firm also manages four open ended funds: AVI Global Special Situations Fund, AVI Japanese Special Situations Fund, AVI Worldwide Opportunities Fund and AVI Japan Discovery Fund.

On completion, AVI will operate under its own brand and remain the investment manager of the three investment trusts. It will continue to manage its range of open-ended funds using the same approach, while benefiting from access to Pacific's technology and infrastructure. The transaction will support AVI's long-term development, broaden its reach with investors and strengthen the client experience. There will be no changes to the investment manager, investment philosophy or process of the investment trusts or funds, the firm said in a statement.

"Combining AVI's investment capability with Pacific's operating platform means Joe and his team can focus on generating alpha for clients, without the distractions that come from non-investment functions and managing a growing business,” Matthew Lamb, chief executive officer of Pacific Asset Management, said. “We believe this model of supported independence is the optimal environment for exceptional investment talent.”

"Pacific, backed by the broader Pinnacle Investment Management Group, is well positioned to take advantage of global opportunities for investment in outstanding talent across technology, distribution, and differentiated investment capabilities such as AVI,” he added.

"This is an exciting next chapter for AVI. Pacific's support will enable us to focus even more intently on what we do best, which is delivering differentiated investment outcomes for our clients, allowing us to grow the business while preserving our unique investment approach and the close relationships we have built with clients over many years,” Bauernfreund said.

“The AVI partnership demonstrates how Pinnacle, alongside Pacific, is unlocking further growth in global distribution to support geographic diversification, affiliate origination, and product innovation,” Ian Macoun, managing director of Pinnacle Investment Management Group, added.