FWM Holdings to Acquire Optima

INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT DEALS BLOG

May 6, 2019

On April 25, 2019, Seward & Kissel client FWM Holdings announced an agreement to acquire Optima Fund Management. Under the terms of the transaction, the founder of Optima Fund Management (“Optima”), Dixon Boardman, will be joining Forbes Family Trust (“FFT”), a subsidiary of FWM Holdings, as Vice Chairman while continuing to serve as Chief Executive Officer of Optima. After the transaction, Optima will become an independently-operated, wholly-owned entity of FWM Holdings. A Seward & Kissel team led by partners Craig Sklar and Jon Brose, counsel Robert Chender and Julia Spivack, and associates Danielle Lemberg, Sarah Besson, and Sean Flynn represented FWM Holdings in the transaction. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2019 and will be subject to customary closing conditions. Further terms of the deal were not disclosed.

FWM Holdings is the parent company of FFT, a New York-based multi-family office that provides investment management services including alternative investments, asset allocation, portfolio construction, and financial planning. FFT is a registered investment adviser and fiduciary with over $5 billion in assets under management as of January 31, 2019.

Optima is a New York-based private investment firm that specializes in alternative investments with approximately $2 billion in assets under management.

To read the press release:
please click here.

The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients, or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.