Franklin Templeton snaps up majority stake in hedge fund specialist

Franklin Templeton Investments has bought a majority stake in hedge fund firm K2 Advisors Holdings (K2), expanding its alternative investments and multi-asset propositions.

The investment manager has agreed in principle to acquire the entire company from 2016, subject to regulatory approval, gaining $9.3bn in assets under management. K2 is an independent fund of hedge funds company, which was co-founded by William A Douglass III and David C Saunders in 2004. The deal will see Douglass and Saunders continue to head up K2, and there will be no changes to the investment management process. Greg Johnson, CEO of Franklin Templeton Investments, said the deal will complement the group's existing product offerings. "One of the ways that we have built Frank...