Fund manager Schroders has announced an agreement with Nuveen under which the U.S. firm will acquire the British company for £9.9 billion ($13.5 billion). The founding family would sell its shares, bringiqng an end to an era for the 222-year-old firm.
Schroders shareholders will receive 590 pence per share in cash, plus dividends of up to 22 pence, valuing the company at 612 pence per share. This represents a 34% premium to Wednesday’s market closing price.
Nuveen stated that the deal would create a leading platform for public and private assets with greater geographic reach across the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. The firm said it has received irrevocable commitments in support of the deal from Schroders’ largest shareholder group, which controls 41% of the shares through various family trusts.
The offer document states that the businesses of Nuveen and Schroders are highly complementary and that the transaction “represents an opportunity to combine their strengths in order to accelerate growth, better serve clients, and create one of the largest active asset managers globally.” The combined group will have nearly $2.5 trillion in assets under management, balanced evenly between institutional and wealth channels. According to the proposed timetable, the transaction is expected to become effective during the fourth quarter of 2026.
BNP Paribas served as financial adviser to Nuveen, while Wells Fargo and Barclays advised Schroders.
Elizabeth Corley, Chair of Schroders, commented that the Group resulting from the combination of Schroders and Nuveen “will bring together two successful companies with shared values and highly complementary strengths to create a new global leader in public and private investment management. Following Schroders’ tradition, London will remain the center of the new combined entity, and the transaction will provide an attractive cash premium to our shareholders, reflecting the value of our business and its future prospects. The Schroders Board is confident that this is the right step for our shareholders, clients, and employees.”
For his part, Richard Oldfield, Group CEO of Schroders, stated that “in a competitive environment where scale can help deliver benefits, we see in Nuveen a partner that shares our values, respects the culture we have built, and that we believe will create exciting opportunities for our clients and employees.” The executive added that the transaction “will significantly accelerate our growth plans to create a leading public-private platform with broader geographic reach and a strengthened balance sheet. Together, we can create an exceptional opportunity to provide clients with a broad range of high-quality investment solutions that meet their evolving needs.”
Likewise, William Huffman, CEO of Nuveen, stated that through this “exciting transformational step for our two distinguished firms, we look forward to welcoming Schroders to the Nuveen family. By bringing together our platforms, capabilities, distribution networks, and complementary cultures, we will create an extraordinary opportunity to enhance the way we serve our collective clients through access to new markets, a strengthened product offering, and a greater depth of investment talent.” He also said that the transaction “is intended to unlock new growth opportunities for institutional and wealth investors worldwide, equipping our leading and differentiated public-to-private platform with a broader global presence,” according to the transaction statement.
Schroders CEO Richard Oldfield will remain at the helm of the firm following the closing of the deal. London will serve as the headquarters of the combined group outside the United States. Nuveen and Schroders will assess opportunities for collaboration and effective integration during the 12 to 18 months following completion of the transaction. During that period, Schroders is expected to continue operating as an independent company.
