Six years after buying American Beacon [profile], its private equity backers may be about to sell it.

Jessica Toonkel and Greg Roumeliotis of Reuters report that unnamed sources say that private equity firms Pharos Group and TPG Capital are exploring a sale of the Fort Worth, Texas-based, subadvised mutual fund shop. The wire service puts the price tag in the range of $600 million or more, which works out to about one percent of American Beacon's $60.1 billion of assets under management as of June 30.

Reuters points to J.P. Morgan as the investment bank working on the sale and unnamed private equity firms as some of the potential bidders. The wire service makes no mention of other possible buyers.

MFWire could not immediately reach American Beacon chief Gene Needles or Pharos managing partner Kneeland Youngblood for comment on the auction. A spokeswoman for TPG told MFWire that the firm declined to comment.

American Beacon, now 28 years young, grew up as in the in-house, subadvised asset management of American Airlines, managing money in the giant airline's pension and 401(k) plans. Dallas- and Nashville-based Pharos and Fort Worth-based TPG bought American Beacon six years ago from American Airlines parent AMR Corp in a $480-million deal that left AMR with a 10-percent stake in the mutual fund shop. Pharos and TPG bought American Beacon through a joint venture, Lighthouse Holdings. 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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