Legg Mason on look out for buys: paper

ZURICH (Reuters) - Money manager Legg Mason Inc (LM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is on the prowl for acquisitions, the group's chief executive officer said in an interview published on Saturday.

"Since we concluded the integration of Clearbridge and the hedge-fund group Permal, we are looking more keenly for acquisitions," CEO Mark Fetting told Swiss newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft.

"The environment is very interesting. Asset managers are cheaper than before. But we are still wary. Buys have to add up for our shareholders," said Fetting, who took over as CEO in January from Raymond Mason.

The Baltimore-based group bought Citigroup Inc's (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) fund arm and hedge fund group Permal in 2005. Legg Mason bought Clearbridge Advisors from Citigroup and Private Capital Management.

"We have $2.7 billion in liquid funds, of which we do not need $1.5 billion for our current business," Fetting said when asked how much money the group has available for takeovers.

(Reporting by Katie Reid, editing by David Christian-Edwards)