German pension buyout firm links up with Lampe Asset Management

German buyout firm VEDRA Pensions has inked a strategic deal with Lampe Asset Management, the institutional asset management arm of Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe bank, for the management of liquid assets of companies holding pension liabilities following the closing of buyout transactions, so-called pension corporations (Rentnergesellschaften).

With the strategic partnership, VEDRA and Lampe Asset Management (Lampe AM) aim to strengthen their position on the German pension buyout market, which is gaining momentum through a series of deals and with transactions tipped to reach €60bn in the coming years.

The partnership on liquid assets investments comes after VEDRA Pensions in March took over the pension corporation used by Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe bank to offload pension liabilities in a buyout transaction. Lampe AM is responsible for investing the pension corporation’s liquid assets.

“Our companies have worked closely together in a spirit of partnership and made the most of their respective strengths since the beginning of our discussions regarding the takeover of Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe’s pension liabilities. This (latest) partnership is a further building block in our strategy,” said VEDRA’s managing director Tilo Kraus. 

Frank-Peter Martin, managing director of Lampe AM, added: “We are confident that our management will provide the optimal solution for the management and investment of pension obligations. We are very pleased to support VEDRA with our asset management expertise in this growth segment.”

Pension buyout deals in Germany are slowly picking up, with firms seeking the know-how of established asset managers to fulfil obligations of acquired pension corporations.

Recently, Funding Solutions Deutschland established a pension corporation to manage the pension liabilities of Sinterwerke Herne, with assets managed by BlackRock. 

Today, VEDRA announced a further buyout deal, taking over the pension corporation and liabilities of stainless steel processing company AST Deutschland, which discontinued production last year as part of the restructuring of the group’s activities in Germany.

The transaction is expected to be completed in June. The pension assets taken over by VEDRA are invested via a German Spezialfonds and protected by a two-tier trust structure (CTA), it said.

It is not clear yet whether Lampe AM will be responsible for investing the liquid assets of AST Deutschland’s pension corporation.