Red Rocks Capital acquired by DST

ALPS Holdings, a DST company, has acquired Golden-based Red Rocks Capital for $65 million.

The purchase price will consist of a combination of up-front cash and a performance-related payout. The transaction will be funded using a combination of cash and short-term credit.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2015.

Red Rocks Capital, formed in 2003, was the first money manager in the US to package listed private equity products in a retail fund structure. The firm now manages $1.8 billion in assets. The firm was already a sub-advisor to the ALPS Red Rocks Listed Private Equity Fund from its inception in 2007. The vehicle is an actively-managed mutual fund offering access to listed private equity investments.

“Acquiring a best-in-class manager like Red Rocks Capital gives us a distinct edge in the alternative investments marketplace,” Ned Burke, CEO of ALPS Holdings, said in a statement. “This transaction represents an important step in our ongoing asset management strategy.”

Red Rocks founders Adam Goldman and Mark Sunderhuse will stay on as co-managers for the Red Rocks strategy. In addition to its investment products, Red Rocks also created and maintains the Red Rocks Global Listed Private Equity Index, a benchmark for private equity firms that are publicly traded on nationally-recognized exchanges worldwide.

ALPS provides a range of retail investment products and serving solutions, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kansas City-based DST Systems. DST Systems is a publicly traded provider of information processing services.