Edinburgh investment company Aberdeen Group is selling part of its stake in Standard Life to institutional investors and reinvesting the proceeds in strengthening its balance sheet.
The placing of 52 million ordinary shares, half its current holding, will reduce Aberdeen’s stake from 10.3% to 5.2%.
In 2021 the company, then known as Standard Life Aberdeen, sold the Standard Life brand and assets to Phoenix while retaining a management partnership.
Following the placing, Aberdeen said it will continue to be a key asset management partner to Standard Life under existing arrangements and will remain one of its largest shareholders.
In a statement issued just after the market closed, Aberdeen said it “intends to deploy the proceeds from the placing in accordance with its disciplined capital allocation policy.”
It said this is focused on “maintaining a strong balance sheet, investing selectively in the business to support sustainable profitable growth, reducing and optimising debt over time, and delivering sustainable returns to shareholders”.
Aberdeen said the price of the shares will be determined through an accelerated book-building process to institutional investors, which was launched immediately following the announcement.
Over the past year, Standard Life shares have traded between 633p and 960p. At today’s closing price of 871.5p the sale would raise £453 million.
Aberdeen CEO Jason Windsor said: “The transaction announced today is further progress to simplify our group, as we seek to deliver on our ambition to become the UK’s leading Wealth and Investments business.
“We see attractive opportunities to invest in growth and will continue to allocate capital where we believe it can generate the best returns for shareholders, while maintaining a strong balance sheet.
“Aberdeen and Standard Life have worked in close partnership for many years, and we look forward to continuing to deliver as a key asset management partner to Standard Life.”
Evercore Partners International is acting as lead financial adviser to Aberdeen in connection with the Placing. Goldman Sachs International and JP Morgan Securities, which conducts its UK investment banking activities as JP Morgan Cazenove, have been appointed by the Company as Joint Global Coordinators and Bookrunners for the placing.
Standard Life is not a party to the placing and will not receive any proceeds or shares in connection with it.
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