Martin Gilbert’s AssetCo agrees £98.8m all-share takeover of River & Mercantile
Martin Gilbert’s AssetCo has agreed a £98.8m takeover of listed asset management firm River & Mercantile (R&M), the firm announced today.
The all-share takeover deal will see R&M’s shareholders scoop up 41.6 per cent of the combined group following the completion, which bosses said was conditional upon the sale of R&M’s solutions business to asset management firm Schroders, agreed in October.
Aim-listed AssetCo said in a statement : “The AssetCo Board believes that there is a strong strategic and financial rationale for the acquisition and that a combined RMG/AssetCo business is consistent with AssetCo’s strategy to be market leading in its chosen best-in-class investment strategies.”
R&M previously agreed to sell its solutions business to Schroders for £230 million and AssetCo bosses confirmed today that the deal was expected to close imminently. The sale will generate £190m for R&M shareholders.
The majority of R&M’s $49.9bn assets under management will be be snapped up by Schroders in the sale, and AssetCo will take on around $4.2bn assets as part of the takeover, AssetCo chief executive Campbell Fleming told reporters today.
R&M will now form the foundation of R&M’s active equities business alongside the funds managed by Edinburgh-based Saracen, which AssetCo acquired in May last year for £2.75m.
Gilbert told reporters: “We believe River & Mercantile’s thoughtful asset management strategy will offer powerful growth opportunities as as we move into more unsettled and uncertain markets.”
AssetCo chief executive Campbell Fleming will now oversee the day-to-day running of the businesses, while Gilbert and others focus on the M&A.