Neuberger Berman is purchasing the assets of LibertyView Capital Management from Credit Agricole Indosuez. The bank is a unit of France's Credit Agricole Group. The deal will bring roughly $1 billion in assets under management into Neuberger's shop. It will operate the alternatives shop as a separate division -- the LibertyView Capital Management Division of Neuberger Berman.

Richard A. Meckler, currently president and chief investment officer of LibertyView, will become president of the new division and managing director of Alternative Investments. The LibertyView division will continue to operate from its existing offices in Hoboken, New Jersey and retain its trading, legal, and marketing executives along with professionals in risk control, operations and systems, said Neuberger Berman.

"This is an important strategic acquisition for Neuberger Berman," said Robert Matza, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Neuberger Berman. "LibertyView provides us with greater breadth and depth of product offerings in alternative investments, which are an increasingly important asset class for institutions, as well as high net worth individuals. LibertyView has a solid track record and an outstanding team of professionals. Their quality and integrity fit with the reputation, culture and ethics of Neuberger Berman. We see their expertise in alternative investments as a complement to Neuberger Berman's core strength in equities and fixed-income investment management."

The deal is expected to close at year-end. Neuberger did not disclose other terms, including the price and said that the transaction is subject to the signing of a definitive purchase contract and certain other conditions.

Ten-year-old LibertyView specializes in alternative investments and offers both multi-strategy and single strategy hedge funds. It focuses on equity, credit, volatility and mortgage-backed arbitrage and investing.  

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