Acquisition

14th Dec 2006 17:39

Schroders PLC14 December 2006 Schroders to Acquire Aareal Asset Management GmbH 14 December 2006 Schroders plc ("Schroders") announces today that it has reached agreement toacquire interests representing 99.75 per cent. of the share capital of AarealAsset Management GmbH and related companies ("AAM"), a pan-European propertyasset manager based in Germany. Under the terms of the agreement, Schroders willpay €28.0 million (£18.8 million) including €6.0 million (£4.0 million) of nettangible assets in cash on completion to Aareal Bank AG ("Aareal") the soleowner of AAM. Schroders has also agreed to acquire certain investments owned byAareal, in the underlying funds managed by AAM that are currently valued at€21.4 million (£14.4 million), and may acquire further investments managed byAAM for up to €29.8 million (£20.0 million) in the event that they are not soldby Aareal prior to 31 March 2007. With its first fund launched in 1999, AAM has assets under management of €1.9billion (£1.3 billion), managing seven property funds across European markets.The Company is headquartered in Wiesbaden with offices in Amsterdam, Milan,Luxembourg, Stockholm and Paris. The main clients of AAM are insurance groups,pension funds and government organisations. AAM will form part of Schroders' property business which currently has £7.6billion* (€11.3 billion) of assets under management, having grown from just £200million (€300 million) fifteen years ago. The business has moved from managing asingle fund to offering a range of pooled property vehicles that manageinvestments across different sectors and geographies. In the last 12 months,Schroders has launched two European property funds of funds which provideinvestors with diversified exposure to European real estate, and global andAsian property securities funds. William Hill, Schroders Head of Property, said, "This acquisition is animportant component of our strategy to offer international property products toour client base. What attracted us to AAM was the entrepreneurial nature of itsmanagement, its investment platform in the major European markets and theexcellent fit with our own business." Charles Pridgeon, Chief Executive of AAM, said, "This is good news for AAM andour clients. With the commitment, resources and distribution strength of one ofthe world's leading asset managers, we are now in a great position to expandfurther in Europe. Crucially, AAM and Schroders share the same one hundredpercent focus on asset management, and I am excited at the opportunities thatlie ahead as we join forces." Completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals. Schroders contacts Henrietta Jowitt Nik Ekholm William Hill +44 (0)20 7658 6166 +44 (0)20 7658 7938 +44 (0)20 7658 6726 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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