TA Associates sells stake in Jupiter Fund Management

By Chris Vellacott

LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - British investment group Jupiter Fund Management's second-biggest shareholder, private equity firm TA Associates, has sold its entire 11 percent stake for 197.2 million pounds ($328.79 million).

The 48.6 million shares sold for 406 pence each in a bookbuild run by JP Morgan (Other OTC: JPYYL - news) , according to a market filing on Wednesday morning.

Jupiter shares had closed prior to the sale's launch at 428.7 pence.

The deal closes a chapter in Jupiter's history, with the exit of a shareholder that first bought in during 2007 to back a management buyout from former owner Commerzbank (Xetra: CBK100 - news) .

After Jupiter's stock market listing in 2010, the private equity group held 22.3 percent of the shares but has since gradually reduced its holding through a series of placings starting with a 3.3 percent sale, in May 2011.

TA Associates completed two sales last year, taking its holding from around 19 percent to 11 percent.

A source close to the deal said the offer, which launched after the market close at 1630 GMT on Tuesday, was fully covered within an hour and closed at around 2000 GMT, priced at the top end of a 400-406 pence range.

The bulk of the shares were sold to British institutions, the source said, and while existing shareholders used the sale to add to their stakes, a significant number of new investors emerged.

Jupiter is undergoing a change of management, with former BlackRock (NYSE: BLK - news) executive Martin Slendebroek due to replace Edward Bonham Carter as chief executive in March.

Jupiter declined to comment on the transaction.