Aberdeen Asset Management has agreed to purchase 100% stake in Advance Emerging Capital (AEC), a London-based investment manager.
Following the deal, Aberdeen will manage 33 closed-end funds with aggregate funds under management of over £8.5bn.
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As part of the acquisition, the AEC staff will be based in Aberdeen’s London office and will become part of the group’s alternatives business, headed by Andrew McCaffery. The team will operate independently from Aberdeen’s direct equity and fixed income teams.
AEC had managed £409m assets under management as of 30 June 2015across a range of funds, including the Advance Developing Markets fund and the Advance Frontier Markets fund.
Aberdeen Asset Management CEO Martin Gilbert said: "The acquisition of Advance Emerging Capital brings to Aberdeen a dedicated and highly experienced fund management team, expands further our closed end fund business and adds to the range of alternative investment capabilities we already offer.
"AEC investors will benefit from the management team being part of a larger, independent asset manager and the ability to draw on the Group’s established distribution and operational expertise in regard to closed end funds."
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By GlobalDataAEC chairman and CEO Nasser Alshawaf said: "As part of Aberdeen, the team will be able to add even more value to investors."
AEC Co-chief investment officer Andrew Lister said: "Sitting within Aberdeen’s rapidly growing Alternatives business will, we believe, enable us to share ideas and best practice to the benefit of our existing investors."
The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval from the UK FCA, is scheduled to close in the fourth quarter of 2015.
As at 30 June 2015, Aberdeen managed total assets of £307bn on behalf of institutional and private investors.
