FIERA CAPITAL Makes bid for YMG

Montreal- headquartered Fiera Capital Management Inc. has made a $ 44.7 million friendly takeover bid for Toronto- based YMG Capital Management Inc.

Fiera Capital, 30 per cent owned by Desjardins Asset Management, is offering $ 3.25 in cash for each YMG common share, a 16 per cent premium over the value of the Toronto advisory firm’s thinly traded shares on Friday. The assets under management of the two firms total more than $26 billion, of which $ 11 billion is in Fiera Capital, founded in 2003 with backing from the Desjardins credit union group, Quebec’s largest financial institution.