March 17 (Reuters) – Victory Capital revised its $8.6 billion cash-and-stock offer for rival Janus Henderson on Tuesday, ratcheting up efforts to derail the asset manager’s take-private deal with Nelson Peltz’s Trian and venture capital firm General Catalyst.
The proposal comes days after Janus rejected Victory’s earlier $8.6 billion offer with a lower cash component, saying the bid carried closing risk and was not superior to the existing $7.4 billion all-cash deal led by Trian.
The bidding war for the $493 billion active asset manager comes as the industry consolidates, fueled by the desire in boardrooms for a larger, global presence to attract investor cash.
Victory is now proposing $40 in cash and 0.25 of its shares for each Janus share. It had earlier offered $30 in cash and 0.35 of its shares.
“The $10 additional cash consideration per share in the improved proposal provides significantly greater certainty to Janus Henderson shareholders,” Victory said.
Janus shares rose 2.7% in premarket trading. The firm didn’t immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
In December, Janus said it had agreed to a buyout by Trian and General Catalyst after a five-year push by Peltz that began as an activist campaign.
In a statement on Tuesday, Victory CEO David Brown said the firm didn’t agree with the risks associated with its proposal previously cited by Janus’s special committee.
Janus had last week cited a variety of factors, including the bid’s synergy targets and uncertainty in obtaining the required 75% consent among Janus clients.
Victory on Tuesday said the firm was confident of achieving the 75% threshold, given its track record on its recent acquisitions.
The firm has made several buys in recent years, including the asset management arm of veterans-focused financial services provider USAA in 2019.
(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)
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