Azimut HoldingSpA said April 12 that it signed a binding agreement to acquire theentire capital of Priority Advisory Group through its Australian subsidiaryAZ Next Generation Advisory Pty.Ltd.

The agreement includes a share swap of 47% of PriorityAdvisory Group's equity for AZ Next Generation Advisory shares and aprogressive buy-back of these shares over the next 10 years. The remaining 53%stake will be paid to the founding partners in cash over a two-year period.

The total value of the transaction is about A$9 million. Theacquisition, which is not subject to local-authority approval, is expected toclose in April.

Priority Advisory Group is a financial advisory groupresponsible for A$389 million of funds under advice. Azimut said PriorityAdvisory Group's leadership team has agreed to long-term contracts to ensurecontinuity of service.

The deal is one of several recent AZ Next Generation Advisoryacquisitions.

As of April 11, US$1 was equivalent to A$1.31.