Janus [profile] is about to buy an ETF provider.

This morning Dick Weil unveils a deal to purchase VS Holdings, the parent of Darien, Connecticut-based ETF and ETN shop VelocityShares [profile], for an initial $30 million in cash up front. The deal is slated to close this quarter. The news comes after Weil made another big move last month, hiring bond king Bill Gross.

A spokesman for Denver-based Janus confirms that, prior to the deal, Janus has not had a presence in the exchange-traded product (ETP) space.

As of September 30, VelocityShares had $2 billion in assets under management across 21 different offerings. So, the $30 million cash payment translates into 1.5 percent of VelocityShares' AUM. As of June 30, publicly-traded, Janus has $177.7 billion in AUM.

Wells Fargo Securities and Paul, Weiss Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison advised Janus on the deal. Freeman & Co. Securities and Stoel Rives advised VS Holdings.

Weil describes the deal as positioning "Janus within the rapidly growing rules-based and active ETF universe."

"Today's announcement is a continuation of our strategy of intelligent diversification, adding new talent to support innovation and smart solutions for our clients," Weil states.

Nick Cherney (co-founder and chief investment officer), Rich Hoge (co-founder and chief financial officer) and Steve Quinn (head of distribution) manage VelocityShares. VelocityShares has a team of 11 people. 

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