Liontrust Asset Administration is exploring a takeover of GAM Holding, its struggling Zurich-listed peer.
Sky Information has learnt that Liontrust is amongst quite a few occasions which have been actively considering a bid for GAM, which has been engulfed in turmoil linked to the collapse of Greensill Capital, the controversial present chain finance group.
It was unclear on Tuesday whether or not or not Liontrust would desk a correct provide for GAM, which Sky Information revealed in December had employed UBS to advise on an public sale.
GAM – which stands for International Asset Administration – has seen its shares halve throughout the last yr amid uncertainty over its future, and now has a market price of merely CHF95m (£85m).
Liontrust, which is valued on the London stock market at £625m, generally is a logical purchaser of GAM from an industrial perspective, according to enterprise executives.
Nonetheless, it too has skirted with firm governance factors in newest weeks, with two of its non-executive directors not too way back resigning, reportedly in protest on the 12-year tenure of its chair, Alastair Barbour.
A mixture of Liontrust, which is run by chief authorities Jon Ions, and GAM would create an asset administration group with roughly £100bn beneath administration.
GAM, which moreover explored a sale 4 years up to now, is scheduled to announce its delayed 2022 outcomes subsequent week alongside its first-quarter interim assertion.
David Jacob, GAM chairman, said alongside its latest quarterly outcomes: “Regardless of most likely essentially the most troublesome market backdrop seen in years, it’s pleasing to see the persevering with energy in our funding effectivity and the good progress we now have made to simplify our enterprise.
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“However, we’re always reviewing the progress of the agency, and we’re dedicated to making sure that our technique is suitable and within the pursuits of all our stakeholders.”
Liontrust and GAM every declined to comment.
