F&C Asset Management said it is in talks to be acquired by Bank of Montreal, Canada’s fourth-largest lender by assets, for about £708 mln (€850 mln) in cash.
F&C Asset Management said it is in talks to be acquired by Bank of Montreal, Canada’s fourth-largest lender by assets, for about £708 mln (€850 mln) in cash.
Bank of Montreal has launched an indicative offer of 120 pence a share for F&C REIT, the UK's oldest asset management house. The offer price represents a premium of 28% to the closing price of F&C shares on the day prior to the launch of the offer.
Bank of Montreal must now make an offer or cancel the bid by 5 pm local time on February 24 to comply with UK takeover rules, according to F&C. The acquisition is expected to close on 1 May 2014.
F&C had about £82 bn of assets under management and earns more than 90% of revenue in mainland Europe and the UK.
Established in 1817 as Bank of Montreal, BMO Financial Group is Canada's first bank and has been operating continuously in the UK since 1870.
'The acquisition demonstrates BMO's deep commitment to the asset management business,' said Bill Downe, CEO of BMO Financial Group. 'With an established pedigree in fixed income investment and broad equity and property capabilities across its European platform, F&C advances BMO's capabilities by adding scope and scale to our well-established portfolio of wealth management businesses.'