Jupiter and Merian deal reaction: 'Lower product overlap than might be anticipated'

Possibility of fund mergers and closures on completion

Jupiter Fund Management’s acquisition of Merian Global Investors for £390m has been welcomed by industry commentators as "a good fit" despite some product overlap, as well as "symptomatic" of the pressure on active managers.

David McCann, an analyst at Numis Securities, called the deal, which remains subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, "inexpensive". In a note to investors, McCann said: "While we note that Merian (like Jupiter) appears to have had a tough time recently for flows (especially in the GEAR product), we note that the price paid appears to reflect this, looks inexpensive and may be opportunistic in our view." Jupiter is set to pay £370m upfront for the business through issuing 95 million company shares, with the remaining £20m paid subject to set performance criteria for Merian, wit...