Liontrust, the UK asset manager seeking to acquire Swiss fund provider GAM reported its annual results for its 2022 fiscal year which ended in March on Wednesday. Net profit fell to 87.1 million pounds ($99.8 million) from a year earlier, with assets under management slipping 6 percent to 31.4 billion pounds.

Since then, that figure has slipped further, standing at 30.5 billion pounds as of June 16.

String of Acquisitions

Liontrust formulated a takeover bid for the crisis-ridden Swiss fund house in May, intending to take over GAM using a share swap valued at 107 million francs ($119.2 million). Liontrust is primarily interested in GAM's funds and its global distribution network.

Liontrust has mostly been focused on its home market, where it's made a string of acquisitions.

Deeper Losses

Various investor groups are standing in the way of Liontrust's efforts to buy the Swiss company, preferring to attempt engineering a turnaround company. Earlier today, GAM announced its intention to hold an extraordinary general meeting on August 25 in response to a demand from investors opposing the sale.

GAM released GAM first quarter of 2023 showing a year-on-year increase in pre-tax operating loss to 11.2 million francs from 10.6 million in the first quarter of last year. Assets under management decreased from 75 billion to 71.7 billion compared to the end of 2022.

Never Straight Up

On July 7, Liontrust will seek approval from its shareholders for a capital increase to stem the share swap and for the takeover. Whether the owners will be persuaded to do so remains to be seen. Liontrust's share price has lagged behind many of its European competitors in what has been a difficult twelve months for the industry as a whole.

Liontrust CEO John Ions was quoted in the report as saying growth paths are never a straight line upwards. The planned acquisition of GAM will help the company achieve its strategic goals by leveraging the two firms' global distribution presence, expanded asset classes, processes, and investment capabilities, and shared business infrastructure.