Aberdeen Asset Management has hotly denied reports that it is up for sale.
A financial news website last night claimed that Aberdeen chief executive Martin Gilbert had made “informal approaches” to rivals to buy the firm which is facing challenging markets in the wake of the economic slide in China.
But a spokesman for the firm was very clear in its denial. He said: “In his 32 years running Aberdeen, Martin Gilbert has never made a formal or informal approach to anyone about buying the business.”
Analysts at broker RBC Capital Markets were also quick to rubbish the claims, which appear to have been based on a few unnamed sources who had requested anonymity.
In a note to investors, Peter Lenardos, managing director at RBC, acknowledged the firm was “in a weak position, hampered by ongoing net outflows that are having an adverse impact on profitability”. But he said a sale process “would be an admission of failure”, adding that Aberdeen was a “well run company”.
“We do not assign much credibility to this article,” he wrote. “We believe that CEOs routinely meet with industry participants to discuss ways to maximise shareholder value, and that no formal sale process is underway.”
The unnamed sources claimed one potential buyer could be Credit Suisse, which sold its asset management business to Aberdeen seven years ago, leaving it with a stake in the UK asset manager which it later sold.
Mr Lenardos noted: “The article fails to name Mitsubishi UFJ – Aberdeen’s largest shareholder – as a potential suitor.
“If Aberdeen were for sale, they would likely receive the first call in our opinion.”
Aberdeen has been hit in recent months by the turmoil in emerging markets, where a large proportion of its investment portfolio is focused.