Janus Capital said Monday that it will buy a provider of exchange-traded funds, a move that some analysts say will provide new hire Bill Gross a platform to launch his own ETF.

The Denver-based firm said it has agreed to acquire VS Holdings, the parent company of VelocityShares, a Darien, Connecticut-based asset manager with about $2 billion under management, according to a news release from Janus. The transaction includes an upfront initial cash payment of $30 million and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2014, pending regulatory approval.