(Reuters) - U.S. asset manager Legg Mason Inc (LM.N) said on Thursday it will buy Fauchier Partners, one of London's oldest fund-of-hedge-funds firms, from BNP Paribas Investment Partners (BNPP.PA), the latest deal in the fast-consolidating sector.
London-based Fauchier, which manages $6 billion in assets and has been tipped as a possible sale target since 2011, will be merged with Legg Mason's fund-of-funds firm Permal, creating a unit with $24 billion in assets under management.
Typically, a fund-of-funds firm holds a portfolio of other investment funds, sometimes in addition to its own direct investments in securities.
Legg Mason also said it has revised employment deals and other arrangements with Permal, which could become a model for additional changes aimed at resolving tensions among its affiliated investment units. Legg Mason is seeking a new chief executive and faces continued outflows from its well-known equity funds.
