Challenger came under focus last year with speculation that its...

Challenger came under focus last year with speculation that its Fidante funds management business was up for sale. It centred on spinning off the business into a fund of which Challenger was a shareholder.

That was followed by talk that private equity was circling the $5bn company, with suggestions Carlyle was weighing a bid.
Challenger and Ares, which counts former Australian and New Zealand investment banking boss John Knox as its chair for the region, already have a joint venture with Fidante, where the pair co-ordinate the marketing and management of retail and institutional investor capital from Australia and NZ for Ares’s various credit, private equity and real estate strategies. The venture is called Ares Australia Management.

Challenger describes Fidante Partners as Australia’s leading multi-boutique asset manager with offices globally and $62.4bn worth of funds under management. For the year to June, Challenger’s funds management unit staged a 13 per cent lift in earnings to $58m.