Swiss fund manager Gottex to buy EIM Group

ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland's Gottex Fund Management Holdings is buying EIM Group, seeking to grow its asset base and create a company with fee earning assets of close to $10 billion (6 billion pounds) by the first half of 2014, it said on Monday.

Scale is becoming increasingly important in fund management for dealing with regulatory requirements and also because of clients' preference for larger firms, Gottex said, adding it aimed to further increase its asset base in the next two years.

Gottex said it remained on the look out for new partners to widen its distribution.

The combined group will focus on multi-asset, multi-manager and Asia-focused investments, as well as risk and infrastructure, the firms said.

EIM shareholders will receive up to 14 million newly-issued Gottex shares and own approximately 30 percent of the combined group, pending approval from Gottex shareholders and regulators, the firms said.

Based on Gottex's closing share price of 2.25 Swiss francs on Friday, 14 million shares would be worth around 31.5 million francs ($35.4 million).

Gottex shareholders would own the remaining 70 percent of the enlarged group, which will retain Gottex chief executive Joachim Gottschalk as its head, the two firms added.

Both firms expect the transaction to be completed within three to four months.

EIM, founded in 1992, provides strategies for high net worth and institutional investors around the world, and held $3.0 billion in assets under management at the end of September.

Gottex said last month it would form a joint venture with China's VStone Asset Management, to further its aim to invest in Asia and raise capital from the region.

($1 = 0.8908 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Alice Baghdjian; Editing by Mark Potter)