M and A
Santander To Buy Back Asset Management Arm

The Spanish lender, which is set to open a UK private banking business in the coming months, did not disclose details of the deal.
Santander plans to
buy back a 50 per cent stake in its asset management arm that it
sold to two US-based buyout funds three years ago.
Under the agreement, the bank will regain full ownership of
Santander
Asset Management from Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic, it
said in a statement earlier this week.
However, Santander did not comment on the price of the deal but
the above firms valued the entire business at €2.05 billion ($2.2
billion) in 2013.
The move comes as
Santander prepares for the launch of its UK private banking
proposition.
Santander Asset Management has €170 billion of assets under
management and is located in 11 countries throughout Europe
and Latin America.
As part of the transaction, Santander, WP and GA confirmed they
will work towards disposing of their holdings in Allfunds, an intermediation
and investment services business in which the three firms
own a 50 per cent stake, through a trade sale or an initial
public offering.
Santander created Allfunds in 2000 to help financial
institutions access so-called open architecture funds. The bank
estimates that the transaction will contribute more than 1 per
cent to earnings per share in 2018, while having a negative
impact on its core equity tier one ratio of around 11 basis
points.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval.