UPDATE 2-Fund firm Crosby in talks to sell, liquidate funds
(Adds background, financial detail)
LONDON, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Troubled fund firm Crosby Asset Management (CSBq.L) is in talks to sell or liquidate six Dublin-based funds from its Forsyth range after investors pulled out assets, its chief operating officer told Reuters.
Crosby, whose share price has fallen 85 percent so far this year, is also in talks to sell two Bermuda-based portfolios of mutual funds and hedge funds, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters this week.
"We are in discussions with third parties about all sorts of things ... Some parties we were in discussion with we're no longer in discussion with. (But) not all parties have pulled (out)," said COO Steve Fletcher.
"At certain levels assets under management become uneconomic," he said.
Fletcher on Friday declined to comment on the sale of the additional two portfolios.
The talks come less than a year after Crosby bought Forsyth Partners, which went into administration in September and which has since seen assets under management tumble.
The six Dublin-based funds -- Forsyth Global Balanced, Global Thematic, Global Bond, Global Emerging Markets, Greater Europe and North America funds -- have assets of nearly $230 million according to the latest data on Crosby's website.
However, this figure will in reality be much smaller after a substantial withdrawal by one client of around 30 percent of the Dublin-based funds' assets.
COO Fletcher also said redemptions "had been larger than that" but refused to give exact figures.
He said both a sale and liquidation were options that could be put to the funds' board.
However, a sale could be more difficult for Crosby as the funds' board has the power to terminate a management contract, which could make buying the funds less attractive.
The two Bermuda-based funds -- Indian Opportunities and Global Commodity -- have combined assets of around $55 million.
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