LONDON — The British hedge fund manager Man Group said on Thursday that it had agreed to acquire Numeric Holdings, an investment manager based in Boston, for up to $494 million.
The deal is expected to bolster the Man Group’s offerings through its AHL quantitative investment business, which has about $11.3 billion in assets under management. Numeric, a privately held company, is expected to be combined with AHL after the acquisition.
The Man Group, which is based in London, has about $55 billion in assets under management and employs about 1,000 people worldwide.
Numeric Holdings, founded in 1989, had more than $14.7 billion in assets under management as of May 31 and 74 employees. It focuses on long-only equity investments and is partly owned by the private equity firm TA Associates.
The deal would increase the Man Group’s geographic base of institutional investors and accomplish a stated goal of expanding in the American market, said Emmanuel Roman, chief executive of the Man Group.
The firm would pay $219 million in cash upon completion of the deal and up to an additional other $275 million to a group of Numeric’s management team and employees in the next five years based on the company’s performance.
The deal, which requires approval by the Man Group’s shareholders, is expected to be completed in September.
Michael Even, Numeric Holdings’ president and chief executive, and Robert Furdak and Shanta Puchtler, the firm’s co-chief investment officers, are expected to continue to manage the business after completion of the deal. Mr. Even and Mr. Puchtler will also join the Man Group’s executive committee.