West L.A. asset manager MetWest Ventures LLC. on Friday said that it had acquired a majority interest in Reed Conner & Birdwell LLC, a value equity investment advisor with $1.6 billion under management.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. MetWest Ventures, founded in 1992, has invested in and built up several specialized investment management businesses over the years and managed assets for several of the largest U.S. pension plans. Reed Conner, founded in 1959, provides investment management services to institutional and high net worth clients.

The two companies, which are neighbors in the same Wilshire Boulevard office building, said MetWest founder and Chairman Richard S. Hollander will become Reed Conner’s chairman. Richard Schweitzer joins as chief financial officer and chief compliance officer at Reed Conner. Principals of MetWest affiliate Aristotle Capital Management, LLC also are expected to join Reed Conner’s management team over the next several months.

Reed Conner’s senior investment team, which includes Chief Executive Donn B. Conner, James P. Birdwell, Jr., James C. Reed, Victor F. Hawley, James R. Henderson, William A. Cram, Geoffrey S. Stewart and Sean M. Thorpe, are expected to remain with the company.

“The anticipated integration of these two successful investment platforms … is expected to provide benefits to all areas of the firm including investment research, trading, client service, back office and product distribution; ultimately, creating what we believe is a stronger investment management company,” Hollander said in a statement.