Brandywine Global Investment Management, a subsidiary of Franklin Resources, has acquired the high-yield corporate bond funds of Diamond Hill Capital Management.
Final terms of the deal, which was first announced in February and completed as of July 30, were not disclosed, but in its last annual report Diamond Hill said it "will receive an initial cash payment of up to $9.0 million, and may receive additional payments totaling up to $13.0 million based on the net revenue of the acquired funds on the one-year anniversary of the closing date."
The acquisition involves two actively managed funds: the $2.3 billion Diamond Hill Corporate Credit Fund and the $1.1 billion Diamond Hill High Yield Fund, which have been renamed and have new trading symbols and CUSIPs but retain their existing portfolio managers and investment strategies. Both funds are rated five stars by Morningstar for most or all of their share classes.
The Diamond Hill Corporate Credit Fund is now called the Brandywine Global Corporate Credit Fund, and the Diamond Hill High Yield Fund has been renamed the Brandywine Global High Yield Fund. Both funds now have four share classes instead of three, and fees for same-share funds are unchanged, according to a spokesman. Each fund will retain the historical performance figures of its predecessor fund.
