UniCredit buys stake in UK investment firm

LONDON, July 2 (Reuters) - Italy's biggest bank, UniCredit (CRDI.MI), has bought a 5 percent stake in UK investment firm NewSmith Capital Partners and is buying the company's credit advisory business, it said on Wednesday.

UniCredit is buying NewSmith Financial Products (NSFP), and all partners and employees of the unit will move to its markets and investment banking division (MIB). TJ Lim, chief executive of NSFP, will become co-head of UniCredit's markets unit, responsible for fixed income and currency, global credit and sales.

The companies did not disclose financial details of the deal. NewSmith, formed in 2003, runs eight hedge funds and a UK long-only equity fund, with about $5 billion under management. UniCredit will become an investor in its funds. (Reporting by Steve Slater; Editing by Quentin Bryar)