Investment company RHJ International (RHJI) has acquired Kleinwort Benson, a private bank and wealth management group, from Commerzbank for £225 million in cash. 

Investment company RHJ International (RHJI) has acquired Kleinwort Benson, a private bank and wealth management group, from Commerzbank for £225 million in cash.

Kleinwort Benson operates primarily in the UK and the Channel Islands and employs 650 staff. The company will continue to trade under the same brand, although the management team is not being tied in as part of the deal.

Robert Taylor, CEO of Kleinwort Benson, said that the deal would enable the company to expand its wealth management and fiduciary offering.

He added: ‘At a time when many major players have seen their brand equity eroded and when much greater importance is attached to reputation and integrity, clients are… turning away from the wealth management divisions of the larger retail and investment banking institutions.’

At the end of 2008, Kleinwort Benson had wealth management assets worth £5.4 billion and fiduciary assets under administration totalling £15.7 billion.