Seagull2
16 Mar 2017
Re: Fat cats keeping noses in the Hardboy, You don't need 2 Ceo's with 2 fat pay packets to oversea a merge, most companies manage with 1! The performance of Aberdeen in a rising stock market over last 2/3 years has been terrible. Massive outflow of funds under management and terrible fall in the share price of 50%. Has Martin Gilbert had a 50% drop in his pay packet to mirror performance of the companies share price? Or was he rewarded with more discounted exuctive pay share options? Have to wait and see what happens staff.Seagull
LK Hyman
16 Mar 2017
Re: Fat cats keeping noses in the Hardboy," Even the last 5 years ... it is only just beneath the FTSE 100"Eh? Are you suggesting that that's OK? What that says to me is that all the money which was invested in ADN shares (as opposed to their individual funds) would have been better invested in a FTSE tracker over that period!In other words it would have been better for ADN shareholders if the company had ceased to exist five years ago and they had slapped their wad into Vanguard or had a crack at running their own money in individual shares and done slightly worse than the FTSE100!Pretty poor performance by ADN. Gilbert's done fine out of it but individual ADN shareholders? .... not so fine.LKH on the flybridge
Hardboy
15 Mar 2017
Re: Fat cats keeping noses in the "However, the two ceo's keep their fat pay packets and duplcate their jobs !"If you'd bothered to read my Bloomberg post, you would know they are not duplicate jobs, but 2 distinctly separate jobs - one running the day to day business, the other managing the integration of the 2 entities. "happily sacrifice the minions" I imagine redundancy terms will be very good; and probably the vast majority, if not all, will be voluntary or early retirement - which may well suit all the individuals concerned. "they have kept their jobs with such poor performance for investors especially at Aberdeen imho" I suppose that depends how you measure performance of top people - I assume you mean Martin Gilbert. If, as I guess, you are looking at shareholder returns - he's not done a bad job - after all he built the company from the start. Even the last 5 years (where the impression is share price returns have not been good) it is only just beneath the FTSE 100; and I am sure if dividends were factored in it would be a lot closer if not better. I couldn't go any further back using iii graphs. Yes the share price has had its ups and downs - largely in harmony with the sector - and one couldn't say it has been an unqualified success, but not a bad job in comparison with other FTSE companies. Of course if you bought at the highs in 2015 judging his performance over 2 years or whatever - it looks poor, but any share price can look great or poor if you choose the timescales appropriately.
Seagull2
15 Mar 2017
Fat cats keeping noses in the trough, the two companies will merge alot of functions and shed staff to save costs. However, the two ceo's keep their fat pay packets and duplcate their jobs ! Amazing how the people at the top look after themselves and happily sacrfice the minions imho! Fat cats alive and well in Scotland ! Amazing they have kept their jobs with such poor performance for investors especially at Aberdeen imho
rhino666
15 Mar 2017
Re: Aberdeen in bed with Standard Life? Yes, Hardboy - share back to the top of its range before the news broke.Expected it to hold on to £2.90 - disappointing.One can hope that the synergy with Standard will prove the current price an absolute bargain.Kicking myself for missing the sell opportunity at £3.10!
Hardboy
14 Mar 2017
Re: Aberdeen in bed with Standard Life? Most comments I have heard about the merger seems to think it is good for both parties in the long term; yet the share price is now down 5% on the price before the news broke.
II Editor
14 Mar 2017
NEW ARTICLE: Trends and Targets for 14/03/2017 " ABERDEEN ASSET MNGMT & LAURA ASHLEY (LSE:ADN & LSE:ALY)Â Â We listed this pair as potential ISA candidates back in February. Aberdeen Asst (ADN) is currently trading around 280p, priced at our original mutter (link here) being 265p. ADN has ..."[link]
Hardboy
10 Mar 2017
Bloomberg Martin Gilbert was on Bloomberg this morning - his normally relaxed self. He was saying how good the deal was in the long run - they think there will be at least £200m saving from synergies; and that the 2 CEOs' duties would be split over the next 2-3 years, one managing day to day, the other managing the integration.
sage in the hills
07 Mar 2017
Re: Aberdeen in bed with Standard Life? Terribletim ......... .......... but WHO will the other bidders be ? .............Blackrock ? ........A Private Equity / Hedgefund ? .....Henderson ? .......JPM ..... more like ......SAGE
Merlindale
07 Mar 2017
Another option... The market seems seriously underwhelmed at the prospect of this rather boring merger - could it be that some other bidder might emerge to take an opportunistic swipe at ADN and open the door to a more exciting bid premium?I certainly hope so, because I cannot see how this will be a very rewarding transaction for the ADN shares as things stand.
terribletim
07 Mar 2017
Re: Aberdeen in bed with Standard Life? This could flush out another bidder...price is too cheap
23Jez
07 Mar 2017
Re: Aberdeen in bed with Standard Life? Thanks for the reference. It is a long time since I read my bible. The language of the St James has not lost its majestic beauty23Jez
Hardboy
07 Mar 2017
Beaufort Securities View Our view: Both Keith Skeoch and Martin Gilbert have always been clear that their ambitions were to run world-class investment companies and that this would be achieved through continued investment in diversification and growth, coupled with a sharp focus on financial discipline. Yesterday’s merger is positive news for their clients, bringing together the strong and reasonably complementary investment capabilities of each firm to tackle the challenges facing UK active managers, while re-positioning the business to meet the evolving needs of clients and customers. It brings financial strength, diversity of customer base and global reach to help ensure the enlarged business has the cost structure to compete effectively on the global stage. Indeed, when Beaufort analysts last met with Martin Gilbert at the end of November 2016, they were left with the impression that a sizeable transaction was being ‘cooked’, although their ‘guess’ was that it was going to be a value-creating merger or acquisition of a sizeable US-based asset manager with significant management of Treasuries and other fixed income instruments. Beaufort also believed that such a deal would be sufficient to allow Aberdeen to retain its current dividend, which is key considering the shares were largely being recommended on the basis of income. Hence its decision to retain its Buy recommendation. Yesterday’s news was not exactly of this shape. In fact, one might even suggest the two Scottish operations are embracing one-another due to weaknesses inherent in both their core franchises, with both suffering consecutive quarterly outflows across all asset classes (Aberdeen has had no less than 15 in fact) and poor relative returns. Whether it will be possible to reverse this trend, particularly given investors’ rising preference to buy index, rather than managed funds, is not clear. Ramming such similar operations together, however, will clearly accrue major cost synergies, with a 25% to 26% reduction in Aberdeen’s cost base allowing 2018E earnings to spike by an estimated 14% net, having assumed an accompanying hit on revenues during the period. A combined group free cash flow of around £900m/year should also provide comfort for those seeking good income visibility going forward. Aberdeen shares have, however, spiked quite sharply upward over the past month, presumably with increasing investor hope of a significant deal being announced in the relatively near-term. What they got yesterday was good, but it could have been better. Early celebrations, on details of the proposed dividend payments and possible cost savings faded somewhat, however, with shareholders recognising that those holding Aberdeen in the hope of holding-out a speculative ‘take-over’ premium are now going to be disappointed and that the larger group emerging from this deal will still have many of the same fundamental problems that exist in separate entities. Having touched its 310p/share price target yesterday, Beaufort downgrades Aberdeen asset management from Buy to Hold.
rhino666
07 Mar 2017
Re: Sold The name is a diffcult one - my vote is Standard Life. Standard Aberdeen will be laughed at forever and Aberdeen Standard has the wrong priority so will not endure IMO.Anyone who sold out yesterday at around £3.10 or whatever the SP got to made a very good decision. Opportunity now to buy back in at significant discount.The potential for recovery in emerging markets has not gone away and neither has the risk of further depression. I think Standard Life and Aberdeen have picked the right time to get married and hopefully onwards and upwards from here.
sound money
07 Mar 2017
Sold Bought as a recovery play on emerging markets, that is now neutralized.Sold on a 20 % increase and several dividends.Standard Life got the best of the deal, will continue to hold SL.M
