First Eagle Investments

Victory Capital Holdings, Inc. announced Wednesday it is acquiring First Eagle Investments in a $7 billion transaction that will create one of the largest publicly traded traditional asset managers in the U.S. with $571 billion of assets.

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Roughly 18% of the firm will be in fixed-income assets after the transaction, according to an investor presentation.

It’s the fifth acquisition for Texas-based Victory since 2014. The firm acquired Munder Capital Management in 2014; RS Investments in 2015; USAA Asset Management in 2018; and Pioneer Investments in 2024.

The acquisition signals potential growth for First Eagle’s presence in the municipal bond market, providing investment teams with “greater scale and the support of an owner with a long-term perspective and a strong commitment to the stewardship of client assets,” said a spokesperson.

Victory has several municipal bond funds, including a high-income fund, many of which came from its 2018 acquisition of USAA Asset Management.

First Eagle first entered the muni market in January 2024 when the New York-based firm hired prominent portfolio manager John Miller after his long tenure at Nuveen. Miller built the high-yield business from scratch to more than $5 billion in its first year. The high-yield municipal bond fund’s assets now total $7.4 billion.

First Eagle is a major player in the high-yield muni space in part because of its senior holding position in Brightline Florida, one of the sector’s largest and most distressed credits, and sister project Brightline West, which is struggling to assemble a financing package for what aims to be the nation’s first electric high-speed train.

First Eagle will operate on Victory Capital’s platform while retaining its own brand and investment autonomy, according to the announcement.

First Eagle has roughly $222 billion in assets under management and Victory has $349 billion for a combined total of $571 billion.

Just under 25% of Victory’s total assets are in fixed income, and 9% of First Eagle’s assets are fixed income. Together, fixed-income will make up 18% of the new firm’s assets.

The purchase price consists of about $4.4 billion in cash, as well as $2 billion in newly issued Victory Capital equity. In addition, Victory Capital said it will assume $575 million of First Eagle’s existing 7.25% senior secured notes due 2032. It’s expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2027.

“I expect the combined company’s scale, status as a publicly traded company, and ability to invest in the business for the long term will be a source of strength in the years ahead,” First Eagle Chief Executive Mehdi Mahmud said.