U.S. asset management giant Legg Mason is buying Martin Currie, UK-based firm that specializes in international equity investing.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Legg Mason says that it expects that the transaction, which is due to close in the fourth quarter, will be slightly accretive to its earnings in the first year.

Martin Currie, which is described as an active international equity specialist, has US$9.8 billion of assets under management. It will become an independent investment affiliate of Legg Mason, which has over US$700 billion in AUM; expanding its product capabilities in active equity strategies including global equity, global emerging markets, Asian equity, European equity and strategies specifically focused on Japan and China.

“Martin Currie’s active international equity capabilities fill our largest product gap and are a perfect complement to our existing investment capabilities,” said Joe Sullivan, president and CEO of Legg Mason.

As part of the transaction, Legg Mason Australian Equities, its active Australian equities manager, will become part of Martin Currie. “Martin Currie is a perfect strategic fit for our growing equity business in Australia, where we see meaningful opportunity. We believe that, over time, our global retail distribution platform will be able to meaningfully leverage Martin Currie’s broad based investment capabilities,” Sullivan added.

“In partnership with Legg Mason we will have efficient access to new markets and client segments through their market-leading and sizeable retail distribution network as well as valuable seed capital which will allow us to be at the forefront of new product innovation,” said Willie Watt, chief executive of Martin Currie.