One of Edinburgh’s biggest employers in merger deal.
Following confirmation over the weekend that the companies were discussing terms to merge their joint £11bn businesses, it has been confirmed this morning that agreement has been reached between Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management.
The intention is to create a ‘world class investment group’ and the boards hope that the merger will allow them to bring scale to the new group as they will then have £660 billion under management.
The merger is subject to approvals of shareholders and the boards of both companies and must be completed by 1 April 2017.
The boards have confirmed that the new group will be headquartered in Scotland where the two individual businesses already employ many  of their staff. Jointly the two businesses have around 10,000 employees.
Sir Gerry Grimstone, Chairman of Standard Life, will become Chairman of the Board of the Combined Group, with Simon Troughton, Chairman of Aberdeen, becoming Deputy Chairman.
·      Keith Skeoch, CEO of Standard Life, and Martin Gilbert, CEO of Aberdeen, will become co-CEOs of the Combined Group. Â
·      Bill Rattray, of Aberdeen, and Rod Paris, of Standard Life, will become CFO and CIO respectively.
Keith Skeoch, CEO of Standard Life said: “We have always been clear that it is Standard Life’s ambition to become a world-class investment company and that this would be achieved through continued investment in diversification and growth, coupled with a sharp focus on financial discipline. We are therefore delighted that this announcement marks another important step towards achieving that ambition. The combination of our businesses will create a formidable player in the active asset management industry globally. We strongly believe that we can build on the strength of the existing Standard Life business by combining with Aberdeen to create one of the largest active investment managers in the world and deliver significant value for all of our stakeholders.”
Martin Gilbert, CEO of Aberdeen said: “We believe this merger is excellent for our clients, bringing together the strong and highly complementary investment capabilities of each firm with a breadth and depth of talent unrivalled amongst UK active managers and positioning the business to meet the evolving needs of clients and customers. This merger brings financial strength, diversity of customer base and global reach to ensure that the enlarged business can compete effectively on the global stage.”
Standard Life has announced today: “The Boards of Standard Life plc (“Standard Life”) and Aberdeen Asset Management PLC (“Aberdeen”) are pleased to announce that they have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended all-share merger of Standard Life and Aberdeen, to be effected by means of a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement between Aberdeen and the Aberdeen Shareholders under Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006 (the “Merger”). The Combined Group will in due course be branded to incorporate the names of both Standard Life and Aberdeen.”
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