Diamond Hill Investment Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: DHIL), a boutique investment management firm with a long-term, valuation-disciplined approach across multiple asset classes, and First Eagle Investments, a privately owned, “fundamentally driven” investment management firm, announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which First Eagle will acquire “all outstanding shares of Diamond Hill for $175 per share in an all-cash transaction valuing the company at appr. $473 million.”
The purchase price reportedly represents “a 49% premium over Diamond Hill’s closing share price of $117.48 on Dec 10, ’25, and a 44% premium over the Company’s 30-day volume-weighted average price (VWAP).”
First Eagle’s investment capabilities “span equity, fixed income, alternative credit, and multi-asset strategies.”
The acquisition would increase First Eagle’s footprint in traditional fixed income, which has been “an area of significant growth” for Diamond Hill.
Diamond Hill’s US-focused multi-cap equity platform now “represents a complement to First Eagle’s Global Value and Small Cap teams.”
Following the close of the transaction, Diamond Hill will maintain its headquarters in Columbus and “operate under its existing brand.”
Pro forma for the transaction, First Eagle’s total Assets Under Management and Assets Under Advisement are “appr. $208 billion as of September 30, 2025.”
The transaction, which was “unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of Diamond Hill, is expected to close by the third quarter of 2026, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including approval by Diamond Hill’s common shareholders, mutual fund shareholder-related approvals, and regulatory approvals.”
The transaction has “no financing contingencies.”
As part of the agreement, Diamond Hill will “not pay quarterly dividends through closing.”
Upon completion of the transaction, Diamond Hill “shares will no longer trade on Nasdaq.”
The definitive agreement includes a “go-shop” period. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Diamond Hill may, “subject to certain terms and conditions, solicit alternative proposals to acquire Diamond Hill from third parties for a period of 35 days continuing through Jan 14, ’26.”
Broadhaven Capital Partners is serving “as financial advisor, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease LLP are serving as legal advisors, and FGS Global is serving as strategic communications advisor to Diamond Hill in connection with the transaction.”
UBS Investment Bank is serving “as financial advisor and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP is serving as legal advisor to First Eagle in connection with the transaction.”
As stated in a release, First Eagle Investments is an independent, privately owned investment management firm “headquartered in New York with approximately $176 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2025.”
Focused on providing stewardship of client assets, the firm focuses “on active, fundamental and benchmark-agnostic investing, with a strong emphasis on downside mitigation.”
As mentioned in the announcement, First Eagle strives to “help clients avoid permanent impairment of capital and earn attractive returns through widely varied economic cycles.”
The firm’s investment capabilities include “equity, fixed income, alternative credit and multi-asset strategies.”
As noted in the update, Diamond Hill invests on behalf of clients through “a shared commitment to its valuation-driven investment principles, long-term perspective, capacity discipline and client alignment.”
An independent active asset manager with employee ownership, Diamond Hill’s investment strategies include differentiated “U.S. and international equity, alternative long-short equity and fixed income.”
As of Sept 30, ’25, Diamond Hill’s assets under management and assets under advisement “totaled $32.4 billion.”