Man Group has made a decisive move into private equity by acquiring control of Westport, one of the world's oldest private equity fund-of-funds managers, and a 25% stake in Parallel Ventures, the direct co-investment business.

The acquisition confirms the intention of Man Group, the London-listed hedge fund manager, to offer private equity products to its investors. It acquired a small private equity fund-of-funds manager earlier this year when it bought RMF Investment Group, the Swiss hedge fund manager. Its new purchase, Westport, is four times larger than RMF's private equity business.