(ADN.L) Aberdeen Asset Management PLC Buy/Sell

By Cecilia Valente and Daisy Ku

LONDON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Private equity-owned fund manager Gartmore has kicked-off a much-touted run of initial public offerings among companies owned by cash-hungry buyout firms, in a deal valuing it at about 1 billion pounds ($1.7 billion).
Gartmore and San Francisco-headquartered Hellman & Friedman, which backed a management buyout in 2006 that valued the firm at 550 million pounds, will raise as much as that amount in the first private equity IPO in Europe this year, and the first in the UK since 2007, according to data from the Centre for Management Buyout Research.
Gartmore plans to raise 250 million to 300 million pounds in new shares to cut net debt to about 150 million pounds, while private equity firm H&F and Gartmore employees could sell as much as 250 million pounds worth of existing shares, depending on investor demand, people familiar with the matter said.
Gartmore is looking for a free float of between 30 to 50 percent after a planned listing around Dec. 11, the people said.
H&F's stake will fall below a majority position from about 52 percent at present, a company spokeswoman said, although she declined to give further details.
Gartmore employees, who own the remainder of the company, are also poised for a payday as staff aim to sell around 20 percent of their overall holdings. The balance of the directors' and employees' shares are subject to staggered lock-in arrangements that expire in 2013.
Gartmore and bookrunners BofA Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS are to set the terms of the IPO around the end of the month after testing investor appetite in a pre-marketing process started Friday.

RICH VALUATION?
Gartmore's funds under management were 21.8 billion pounds at the end of September, up 34 percent since February 2009 but still below the level of about 25 billion pounds in 2006.
The company had considered an IPO in 2007, which valued it at 1.5 billion pounds, but the plan was put on ice due to the financial crisis and in April, a senior Gartmore executive played down the likelihood of an IPO because of the state of the markets
However, the recent surge in equity prices has reignited interest amongst private equity firms to list portfolio businesses.
At 1 billion pounds, Gartmore is valued at 4.6 percent of assets under management, above the 1 percent level at which Aberdeen Asset Management is valued and 1.5 percent at Henderson Group.
But Gartmore has 17 percent of its fund under management as hedge funds, which generate higher fees than traditional funds.
Gartmore CEO Jeff Meyer said in a conference call that H&F would keep its two representatives on the board after the flotation.
Private equity investors are showing signs they are ready to accept lower returns in exchange for getting some cash back when portfolio firms come to float in what could be a crowded market for new issues over the next year.
"We are a conservative firm, a firm which does not need leverage other than for the purpose of the buy-out and we thought it was an opportune time to de-lever," Meyer said.
Meyer said that although the IPO timetable was "not cast in stone", he expects it to go ahead by mid-December.
Gartmore generated 38.1 million pounds operating earnings on the back of 207.1 million pounds for the first nine months in 2009.
The firm will use the proceeds from the listing to pay down the debt taken on for the MBO and added to in a refinancing the following year. Net debt of some 400 million pounds at end-September 2009 will be cut to 150 million pounds, the company said. The debt does not come due until 2014.
Citi is acting as joint bookrunner and Fox-Pitt, Kelton is acting as co-lead Manager for the deal.

(Editing by Joel Dimmock and Jon Loades-Carter)

($1=.6002 Pound) Keywords: GARTMORE/ Keywords: GARTMORE/

(daisy.ku@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 5106; Reuters Messaging: daisy.ku.reuters.com@reuters.net)

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Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

By Cecilia Valente and Daisy Ku

LONDON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Private equity-owned fund manager Gartmore has kicked-off a much-touted run of initial public offerings among companies owned by cash-hungry buyout firms, in a deal valuing it at about 1 billion pounds ($1.7 billion).
Gartmore and San Francisco-headquartered Hellman & Friedman, which backed a management buyout in 2006 that valued the firm at 550 million pounds, will raise as much as that amount in the first private equity IPO in Europe this year, and the first in the UK since 2007, according to data from the Centre for Management Buyout Research.
Gartmore plans to raise 250 million to 300 million pounds in new shares to cut net debt to about 150 million pounds, while private equity firm H&F and Gartmore employees could sell as much as 250 million pounds worth of existing shares, depending on investor demand, people familiar with the matter said.
Gartmore is looking for a free float of between 30 to 50 percent after a planned listing around Dec. 11, the people said.
H&F's stake will fall below a majority position from about 52 percent at present, a company spokeswoman said, although she declined to give further details.
Gartmore employees, who own the remainder of the company, are also poised for a payday as staff aim to sell around 20 percent of their overall holdings. The balance of the directors' and employees' shares are subject to staggered lock-in arrangements that expire in 2013.
Gartmore and bookrunners BofA Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS are to set the terms of the IPO around the end of the month after testing investor appetite in a pre-marketing process started Friday.

RICH VALUATION?
Gartmore's funds under management were 21.8 billion pounds at the end of September, up 34 percent since February 2009 but still below the level of about 25 billion pounds in 2006.
The company had considered an IPO in 2007, which valued it at 1.5 billion pounds, but the plan was put on ice due to the financial crisis and in April, a senior Gartmore executive played down the likelihood of an IPO because of the state of the markets
However, the recent surge in equity prices has reignited interest amongst private equity firms to list portfolio businesses.
At 1 billion pounds, Gartmore is valued at 4.6 percent of assets under management, above the 1 percent level at which Aberdeen Asset Management is valued and 1.5 percent at Henderson Group.
But Gartmore has 17 percent of its fund under management as hedge funds, which generate higher fees than traditional funds.
Gartmore CEO Jeff Meyer said in a conference call that H&F would keep its two representatives on the board after the flotation.
Private equity investors are showing signs they are ready to accept lower returns in exchange for getting some cash back when portfolio firms come to float in what could be a crowded market for new issues over the next year.
"We are a conservative firm, a firm which does not need leverage other than for the purpose of the buy-out and we thought it was an opportune time to de-lever," Meyer said.
Meyer said that although the IPO timetable was "not cast in stone", he expects it to go ahead by mid-December.
Gartmore generated 38.1 million pounds operating earnings on the back of 207.1 million pounds for the first nine months in 2009.
The firm will use the proceeds from the listing to pay down the debt taken on for the MBO and added to in a refinancing the following year. Net debt of some 400 million pounds at end-September 2009 will be cut to 150 million pounds, the company said. The debt does not come due until 2014.
Citi is acting as joint bookrunner and Fox-Pitt, Kelton is acting as co-lead Manager for the deal.

(Editing by Joel Dimmock and Jon Loades-Carter)

($1=.6002 Pound) Keywords: GARTMORE/ (daisy.ku@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 5106; Reuters Messaging: daisy.ku.reuters.com@reuters.net)

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Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

LONDON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - British asset management house Gartmore is to raise about 250-300 million pounds ($417-$500 million) in the country's biggest initial public offering this year, people familiar with the matter said.
Gartmore on Friday announced that it expected to list on the London Stock Exchange in mid-December.
Gartmore plans to float 30-50 percent of its share capital in an offering valuing it at about 1 billion pounds. The float will be a mixture of new shares and existing shares.
Hellman & Friedman, which owns 50 percent of Gartmore, will decide what percentage of existing shares it wants to sell when the fund house set an indicative price range for the IPO around Nov. 27.
Peers including Aberdeen Asset Management and Henderson trade around 15 times 2010 estimated earnings.

(Reporting by Daisy Ku)

($1=.6002 Pound) Keywords: GARTMORE/IPO (daisy.ku@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 5106; Reuters Messaging: daisy.kureuters.com@reuters.net)

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Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

RNS Number : 5190C Aberdeen Asset Management PLC 13 November 2009

TR-1: NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTEREST IN SHARES

1. Identity of the issuer or the underlying Aberdeen Asset
issuer of existing shares to which voting Management PLC

rights are attached:

2 Reason for the notification (please tick the appropriate box or boxes):
X

An acquisition or disposal of voting rights

An acquisition or disposal of qualifying financial instruments which may result in the acquisition of shares already issued to which voting rights are attached

An acquisition or disposal of instruments with similar economic effect to qualifying financial instruments

An event changing the breakdown of voting rights Other (please specify):

3. Full name of person(s) Credit Suisse Group AG

subject to the notification obligation:

4. Full name of shareholder(s) Credit Suisse AG
(if different from 3.): Credit Suisse Securities
(Europe) Ltd Clariden
Leu AG

5. Date of the transaction and 11 November 2009 date on which the threshold is crossed or reached:

6. Date on which issuer 12 November 2009

notified:

7. Threshold(s) that is/are 24%

crossed or reached:

8. Notified details: A: Voting rights attached to shares

Class/type of Situation previous Resulting situation after the triggering transaction
shares to the triggering
transaction

if possible using the ISIN CODE
Number Number Number Number of voting % of voting
of of of shares rights rights
Shares Voting
Rights
Direct Direct Indirect Direct Indirect
240,846,451 240,846,451 N/A N/A 240,641,902 23.99%

B: Qualifying Financial Instruments Resulting situation after the triggering transaction

Type of financial Expiration Exercise/ Number of voting % of voting
instrument date Conversion rights that may be rights
Period acquired if the
instrument is
exercised/
converted.

C: Financial Instruments with similar economic effect to Qualifying Financial Instruments Resulting situation after the triggering transaction

Type of financial Exercise Expiration Exercise/ Number of voting % of voting rights
instrument price date Conversion rights instrument
period refers to
N/A Nominal Delta

Total (A+B+C)

Number of voting rights Percentage of voting rights
240,641,902 23.99%

9. Chain of controlled undertakings through which the voting rights and/or the financial instruments are effectively held, if applicable: