Aberdeen Asset Management shares suspended as merger with Standard Life clears final hurdle

A merger between Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management has been given the green light by the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

Abderdeen’s shares on the London Stock Exchange were suspended as of 5pm today. Standard Life became the FTSE 100’s biggest faller, closing down 3.75 per cent.

The merger is now all set to complete on the previously announced date of 14 August.

Last month the deal was given approval by the FCA, and the Edinburgh court judgement marks the final hurdle.

Now a copy of the court order is to be delivered to the Registrar of Companies in Scotland in order to finalise the creation of the new company, to be called Standard Life Aberdeen. This is expected to happen on Monday.

The new firm will boast around £670bn of assets under management and be called Aberdeen Standard Life Investments. It will be jointly headed by the two chief executives of the two firms: Martin Gilbert and Keith Skeoch and headquartered in Scotland.

It is hoped the tie-up will result in around £200m of annual cost savings. Some 800 jobs are expected to be cut over a three-year period.

Read more: Standard Life profits rise ahead of £11bn Aberdeen Asset Management merger