Henderson Group Plc said it's in talks to buy rival New Star Asset Management Group Plc, potentially ending the U.K. money manager's independence after its shares collapsed and investors withdrew funds last year, Bloomberg reported.
Henderson didn't say what price was being considered, and added there was "no certainty" of a deal, according to an e- mailed statement this afternoon. Both companies are based in London. The Sunday Telegraph has said Henderson has exclusive rights to negotiate a deal, and reported that New Star also had offers from Schroders Plc and Neptune Investment Management Ltd.
New Star, which was started by millionaire money manager John Duffield in 2000, plunged 99 percent in London trading last year and has a market capitalization of 5.3 million pounds ($7.3 million). The company buckled during the credit crunch, hobbled by a loan it took out to fund a shareholder payout, and suffered investment losses as markets tumbled. Henderson, which was spun off from Australian life insurer AMP Ltd. in 2003, managed 51 billion pounds of assets as of last September.
Shares of New Star, which last week said it was trying to find a buyer, fell 13 percent to 1.99 pence on Jan. 23. Its shares peaked at 648.75 pence on May 31, 2007. Three calls to New Star by Bloomberg News seeking comment on the Telegraph story today weren't returned.