In Brief: Oppenheimer Buying Pa. Asset Manager

The parent of OppenheimerFunds Inc. is buying Trinity Investment Management Corp., a privately held firm that manages $8 billion of assets for institutional clients.

The deal, signed Friday afternoon by Oppenheimer Acquisition Corp., gives Oppenheimer access to more than 100 Trinity clients, primarily corporate and public retirement plans, as well as educational and charitable endowment funds.

Terms were not disclosed, but Richard Tucker, a Trinity managing director, said the payments would be spread over five years. He said the deal is likely to be completed by April 1.

It is the fund company's first deal for an institutional asset manager. "We've looked in the past, but we had not found the right partner or the right fit," said Len Darling, senior managing director and chief executive of Oppenheimer's institutional arm. Oppenheimer has $97 billion of assets under management, mostly retail, he said.

Trinity, based in Bellefonte, Pa., hired Goldman, Sachs & Co., New York, in February to sniff out potential partners.