Battle for fund manager goes into extra time

The battle for fund manager river and Mercantile (r&M) will stretch into next year after the deadline for tabling a formal offer was extended.

The firm is in talks with City veteran Martin Gilbert and rival bidder Premier Miton amid a wave of consolidation in the industry.

Both Gilbert and Premier Miton had until 5pm yesterday to launch a firm offer. But with talks between the r&M board and both suitors ongoing, the takeover panel extended the deadline to 5pm, January 18.

‘There can be no certainty that a firm offer will be made,’ r&M said. Gilbert is seeking to buy r&M through his investment vehicle Asset Co.

The 66-year-old father of three is both chairman of Asset Co and deputy chairman of r&M. he is also chairman of revolut, Toscafund and Scottish Golf, and senior non-executive director at Glencore. he has recused himself from the r&M board for the purposes of talks relating to the potential bid. Asset Co, which specialises in buying and operating wealth managers, already owns a 5.85pc stake in r&M.

The swoop comes nearly four decades after Gilbert set up Aberdeen Asset Management. he built it into a giant with more than £300bn of savings on its books before merging it with Standard Life in 2017. he stepped down last year, and took control of stock marketlisted cash shell Asset Co. It has secured three acquisitions – including the takeover of edinburgh investment house Saracen Fund Managers – and raised £25m from investors.

Asset managers are bulking up to fight off rivals running cheaper passive, or indextracking, funds. Asset Co said the extension ‘should allow sufficient time to finalise a potential offer’.