Gresham House, a London-listed asset manager which invests in sectors including forestry and battery storage, is in talks about a private equity takeover.

Sky News has learnt that Searchlight Capital, a US-based buyout firm, is targeting a take-private of the alternative investment manager, which is run by chief executive Tony Dalwood.

If completed, the deal would be the latest in a series of deals involving London-listed companies this year.

The event organiser Hyve, investment bank Numis and payments firm Network International have all been acquired in 2023, either by private equity firms or strategic acquirers.

Gresham House, which has a market value of about £260m, managed nearly £8bn of assets at the end of last year.

Its areas of investment also span housing, infrastructure and renewable energy, with its origins dating back to 1857.

Lenders are understood to have been approached to help Searchlight finance the deal.

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The price being discussed between Searchlight and Gresham House was unclear this weekend.

Evercore, Rothschild and Dean Street Advisers are all understood to be advising on the prospective takeover.

A spokeswoman for Gresham House said on Sunday that the company did not comment on “rumour and speculation”.