Janus Capital Group Inc, fresh from hiring bond star Bill Gross, said on Monday it planned to make its first foray into the booming exchange-traded funds space through the acquisition of VelocityShares parent, VS Holdings Inc. Janus said the deal to purchase VS includes an initial upfront cash consideration of $30 million and is expected to close by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approval.Exchange-traded product provider VelocityShares, founded in 2009, had raised around $2 billion in assets as of Sept. 30.The company's ETF business, which is aimed at long-term investors, along with future product innovation, is the planned focus for synergies, the companies said. VelocityShares also has an exchange-traded notes business that is aimed at short-term investors.There has been speculation for years that Janus would enter the ETF industry after the firm filed an application with regulators in 2010 to offer stock and bond ETFs.
Janus Capital Group Inc., and its subsidiaries (JCG) provide investment management, administration, distribution and related services to financial advisors, individuals and institutional clients through mutual funds, other pooled investment vehicles, separate accounts and sub advised relationships (collectively referred to as investment products) in both domestic and international markets. Shares of JNS fell by 0.14% or $-0.02/share to $13.95. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $8.99 and as high as $15.95. On average, 6234480 shares of JNS exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 7209001.
Source