Global asset manager Legg Mason is in talks to buy real estate investment firm Clarion Partners. The deal would value Clarion at roughly $850M, a big jump from the $100M its current majority owner, Lightyear Capital, paid in 2011, Bloomberg reports.
Moreover, the $850M tag puts Clarion’s value at a multiple of 12 times its EBITDA—$70M last year—a huge leap from the more common seven times EBITDA equation for US publicly traded companies.
Legg Mason reportedly plans to buy 80% of Clarion, leaving the other 20% to the firm’s management. The deal could be made official as early as this month. [Bloomberg]
