RIT Capital in joint venture with Edmond de Rothschild

Traders were debating the collective name for a group of Rothschilds on Friday morning as RIT Capital Partners, the London-listed investment trust chaired by Lord Rothschild, and Edmond de Rothschild Group (EdRG), the international private banking and asset management group chaired by Baron Benjamin de Rothschild, announced the creation of a strategic partnership.

The newly created firm will be majority owned by EdRG, with RIT taking a 49% stake. EdRG will toss in its stake in the management company of Capital Holdings, which has assets under management of $2.7bn, into the joint venture while RIT, for its part, will issue 1.13m new RIT shares to EdRG as consideration for its interest in the joint venture. The new RIT shares are valued in aggregate at around £14m.

Capital Holdings Funds include Leveraged Capital Holdings (LCH) and related funds Trading Capital Holdings and European Capital Holdings. LCH is the world's oldest fund of hedge funds and is a flagship investment vehicle of the Edmond de Rothschild Group.

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LCH and related funds are listed on the Euronext Amsterdam Exchange. Rick Sopher, who is currently a non-executive director of RIT, is the chairman of management of the Capital Holdings Funds.

As a follow-on from the creation of the joint venture, both parent companies will feature more Rothschilds - one of the most storied names in City history - on their boards. Baroness Ariane de Rothschild, Vice Chairman of Edmond de Rothschild Group, is to become Honorary Vice Chairman of RIT, while Lord Rothschild will become Honorary Vice Chairman of La Compagnie Financire Saint-Honor, the French holding company of Edmond de Rothschild Group.

"This alliance increases RIT's ability to identify investment opportunities globally and to expand its activities with third party fund management," Lord Rothschild said.

Baroness Ariane de Rothschild added, "This strategic partnership with RIT Capital Partners is extremely important to the Edmond de Rothschild Group. We are delighted to work with RIT on developing this new venture, leveraging our complementary skills and outstanding track records."

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