A deal potentially worth $375 million just went down. AMVESCAP PLC has just bought six-year-old financial restructuring group WL Ross & Co. for a price of $100 million, plus five annual payments of up to $55 million each, AMVESCAP announced Sunday in a release. WL Ross manages over $3.5 billion in assets. The London-based global investment manager expects to complete the acquisition in the fourth quarter of the year, and will merge its own direct private equity business, INVESCO Private Capital, into WL Ross, to be managed by billionaire-founder Wilbur Ross himself.

AMVESCAP president and CEO Martin L. Flanagan seemed as excited about gaining Ross himself as he was about acquiring Ross's company.

"Wilbur Ross is the recognized leader in financial restructuring, and we are very excited that such a distinguished investor and his experienced team are joining AMVESCAP," Flanagan said in the release. "With his leadership of the company's direct private equity business, AMVESCAP will be uniquely positioned to deliver alternative investment strategies that provide innovative and enduring investment solutions for our clients." 

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