Virtus Investment Partners to acquire Westchester Capital Management

Virtus Investment Partners Inc. has agreed to acquire Westchester Capital Management LLC, a Valhalla, N.Y.-based manager of global event-driven investment strategies with approximately $4.3 billion of assets under management

Under the agreement, Virtus would purchase all of the equity of Westchester Capital. Managing partners and portfolio managers, Roy Behren and Michael Shannon, are reinvesting a significant portion of the transaction proceeds into the firm's investment strategies and have entered into long-term employment agreements.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of the year, subject to closing conditions and approvals by each fund's board and shareholders.

UBS acted as financial adviser and Goodwin Procter LLP was the legal adviser to Virtus on the transaction. Piper Sandler & Co. acted as financial adviser and Berkowitz Trager & Trager LLC and Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP were the legal advisers to Westchester Capital Management and its shareholders.