Treasury Group has reached agreement with Washington H. Soul Pattinson for the acquisition of Souls Funds Management.

Treasury did not provide any details about the price, equity stake, or conditions of the takeover, saying it would provide more information at the Treasury Group's Annual General Meeting (AGM) tomorrow.

Treasury Group executive director David Cooper said he could not provide any further details due to the market sensitivity of the information.

Souls Funds Management came recently in the news when its chief investment officer (CIO) Frank Villante announced he would leave the company in November.

Rating agencies Standard & Poor's and Morningstar put Souls' funds on hold pending the appointment of a new CIO.

In the meantime, Scott Armstrong has been chosen to manage the portfolios in question.

Souls senior analyst Andreas Stephens also handed in his resignation.

Souls operates three funds: the Souls Australian Small Companies Fund, the Souls Australian Equity Fund and the Souls Select Australian Share Fund.

The firm was established in September 2003 when Washington H. Soul Pattinson acquired a majority stake in boutique funds manager Veritas Investment Management.
 
Treasury Group holds equity stakes in a number of boutique fund managers, including Investors Mutual, Global Value Investors and Premium Investors.

As at 30 September 2009, Treasury reported total funds under management of $12.97 billion, which it said was an increase of 19 per cent during the quarter.