In Brief: Affiliated Agrees to Buy Essex Investment

Affiliated Managers Group Inc. announced Thursday it plans to buy Essex Investment Management Corp. for $69.6 million in cash and 1.75 million shares of stock.

The Boston companies would in turn create a limited liability corporation to house the investment management firm. Essex's management, including its founder Joseph C. McNay, would retain a 32% stake in the new entity. The deal is expected to close this quarter.

Essex, which has $4.3 billion of assets under management for institutional and individual investors, would become Affiliated's 11th affiliate and bring its total assets under management to about $50 billion.

The holding company was founded four years ago by former Boston Co. president William J. Nutt and began trading in November on the New York Stock Exchange. Its affiliates use a variety of investment strategies; Essex specializes in managing growth stocks and fixed-income securities.

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