Around $20 million will be given to 15 directors and partners of the advisory firm.

Spanish asset manager Alantra has agreed to combine with UK-based global advisory firm Catalyst.

Catalyst will rebrand to be called Alantra UK and will be run by existing partners of the firm, Alantra said in a statement.

The deal, which is subject to FCA approval, will see Alantra pay £15 million ($20 million) to 15 partners and directors of the London firm. Also, subject to Alantra’s shareholders’ approval, more than 1.6 million of Alantra shares will be given to the 15 Catalyst partners and directors, who will become partners of the Alantra group.

The shares have a lock-up agreement of up to six years, which means that the shares cannot be sold during this time, and 16.7 per cent of them will be stored in a warehouse for incentivisation and future allocation.

The combined group resulting from the deal will be in 21 countries across Europe, the US, Asia and Latin America. Alantra will add mergers and acquisitions and debt advisory services to its advisory operation, after the deal is completed.

“The UK is the most important M&A market in Europe and, as such, for a number of years we have had the strategic target to strengthen our M&A and debt presence in the country,” said Santiago Eguidazu, executive chairman at Alantra. “We are extremely happy to have fulfilled this ambition by partnering with Catalyst, a firm that shares our values, has a strong leadership, and the same ambition of developing a highly specialised and truly global service for our mid-market clients.”

Alantra is a global investment banking and asset management firm focusing on the mid-market with offices across Europe, the US, Asia and Latin America. Catalyst Corporate Finance advises business owners, management teams and investors on all aspects of corporate finance. It operates across the UK with offices in London, Birmingham and Nottingham;