Monitoring Desk<\/p>\n
Fund managers Aberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life have confirmed they are holding talks about a possible all-share merger.
\nIt follows a report on Sky News that the companies were exploring an \u00a311bn merger.
\nThe move would create one of the UK’s largest fund managers, overseeing assets worth \u00a3660bn.
\nThe companies said the deal was subject to a number of conditions, including shareholder approvals.
\nUnder the terms of the potential deal, Aberdeen shareholders would own 33.3% and Standard Life shareholders 66.7% of the combined group.
\nThat reflects Aberdeen’s \u00a33.7bn market capitalisation and Standard Life’s \u00a37.5bn value.
\nStandard Life chairman Sir Gerry Grimstone would become chairman of the board, with Aberdeen’s chairman Simon Troughton becoming deputy chairman.
\nStandard Life and Aberdeen’s current chief executives, Keith Skeoch and Martin Gilbert, would become co-chief executives.
\nThe logic of putting the firms together is to build investment clout, in competition with US-based giants such as Blackrock.
\nThey want to assert that active management of funds can work for clients.
\nWith those passive funds growing, this offers “significant synergy potential”, which is likely to mean duplicate roles being shed. The two companies employ about 9,000 people.
\nThat clout as a shareholder can also be applied to shaping the decisions of companies in which the asset managers have stakes.
\nIn a joint statement, the companies said: “It is envisaged that the board of directors of the combined group would comprise equal numbers of Standard Life and Aberdeen directors.
\n“The combined group would draw on the expertise across its markets and would endeavour to harness the talent in both companies to optimise the benefits for clients and shareholders of the combined group.”
\nLast month Aberdeen reported big outflows from its funds following Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election.
\nAberdeen said investor sentiment “stalled” following the US election result.
\nEdinburgh-based Standard Life reported recently that it shook off industry “headwinds” last year to post a strong rise in profits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Monitoring Desk Fund managers Aberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life have confirmed they are holding talks about a possible all-share merger. It follows a report on Sky News that the companies were exploring an \u00a311bn merger. The move would create one of the UK’s largest fund managers, overseeing assets worth \u00a3660bn. The companies said the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13875,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13854","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n