US asset manager Nuveen is acquiring UK peer Schroders Plc for £9.9 billion (US$13.5 billion) in the largest-ever acquisition of a European asset manager.
The move will create a group with $2.5 trillion of assets under management that will “operate with significant scale and capabilities in the world’s largest financial centres with a presence in more than 40 markets in total”, the companies say in a joint statement on February 12.
The assets are lower than the $2.8 trillion managed by France’s Amundi plc, Europe’s largest asset manager, and far below the approximately $14 trillion managed by US asset management giant BlackRock Inc.
William Huffman, chief executive officer of Nuveen, describes the acquisition as an “exciting and transformational step” for both companies.
“By bringing our complementary platforms, capabilities, distribution networks and cultures together, we will create an extraordinary opportunity to enhance the way we serve our clients through access to new markets, bolstered product offerings, and deeper pools of investment talent,” he says.
“This transaction is about unlocking new growth opportunities for wealth and institutional investors around the world by giving our leading, differentiated public-to-private platform a broader global presence,” he adds.
According to Richard Oldfield, group chief executive officer of Schroders, the deal will “significantly accelerate our growth plans to create a leading public-to-private platform with enhanced geographic reach”.
“Together, we can create an exceptional opportunity to provide clients with a true breadth of high-quality solutions to meet their evolving needs,” he says.
Schroders, he says, sees Nuveen as a partner that “shares our values, respects the culture we have built”.
