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Administration August 6, 2001
Alliance Capital to Acquire Sanford Bernstein
June 20, 2000 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Alliance Capital
Management, the ninth-largest investment company in the
world, has agreed to acquire Sanford Bernstein & Co., a
money management and research firm, for close to $3.5 billion
in cash and stock.
Reported by editors@plansponsor.com
The takeover is the latest in a consolidation wave that is sweeping the money management industry, with foreign companies buying up American firms. Monday, Old Mutual agreed to take over United Asset Management Corp. Last week, France’s Caisse des Depots agreed to buy Nvest. Last month, UniCredito Italiano announced the takeover of Pioneer Group.
Today’s announcement also has a foreign angle. Alliance is controlled by AXA SA, the French financial group. Axa also owns Axa Financial/Equitable and Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette.
The new combined company will have roughly $475 billion in assets under management. It will manage assets for approximately 2,600 institutional and 15,000 private client accounts, as well as $189 billion in mutual fund assets.
Alliance will pay $1.5 billion in cash and 40.8 million newly issued limited partnerships units of Alliance Capital.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter.