River Global Holdings to be acquired by Liontrust Asset Management Plc

The board of River Global plc has accepted an offer from Liontrust Asset Management Plc to acquire River Global Holdings, the asset management business of River Global Plc, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals. River Global Holdings is the 100% owner of River Global Investors LLP (RGI), Devon Equity Management Limited, RGI Fund Management Limited, and River Global Services Limited. Liontrust is a wellestablished specialist active asset manager, launched in 1995 and listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1999. Like River Global, they are strong advocates of active management and disciplined, longterm investing. Liontrust, traditionally perceived as a growth manager, has been attracted by the strength and the complementary nature of RGI’s investment teams, who typically have a more value bias.

Under the terms of the proposed transaction, all RGI’s investment teams will join Liontrust with no change to team structures, investment philosophies, or processes. The RGI investment teams will benefit from the strength of Liontrust’s brand and platform and the depth of their marketing and distribution teams, including outside the UK. Martin Gilbert will join the Liontrust board as a Non-executive Director.

Commenting on the transaction, River Global Chairman Martin Gilbert said

River Global and Liontrust are two highly complementary businesses, and it makes perfect sense to bring them together in this way. River Global’s shareholders will benefit from receiving Liontrust shares at a premium to the prevailing River Global A share price, while River Global’s people and its funds will immediately benefit from becoming part of a larger asset management group, with powerful distribution and marketing resources that will accelerate the inflows that we are seeing into our funds, as well as realising broader all-round growth opportunities. I would like to thank the River Global team for all they have achieved in the past four years to develop the business and look forward to becoming a non-executive director of the broader Liontrust group to be with them on the next stage of their journey.

Commenting on the transaction John Ions, Chief Executive of Liontrust said

The acquisition of River Global is an important step forward for Liontrust. River Global’s investment capabilities are complementary to Liontrust's established processes and funds and combining them will create a stronger and broader platform for future growth. The enlarged business will diversify products, performance and the client base. River Global fund managers will benefit from Liontrust's brand and distribution that will provide them with a broader route to market both in the UK and internationally. Clients will benefit from Liontrust's market-leading service and the investment we have made in recent years in our operating model to ensure the integration is as smooth and quick as possible. The appointment of Martin Gilbert as a non-executive director further strengthens the Board, and we believe that he will be able to bring Liontrust new global client relationships.

Please find attached the RNSs from both River Global and Liontrust.

If you have any further questions, please contact us at client.services@river.global.

Link to RNS : Proposed sale of RG’s AM business to Liontrust - 07:00:11 16 Mar 2026 - RVRG News article | London Stock Exchange

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