Nuveen Buying Schroders for $13.5B to Form $2.5T Asset Manager

Nuveen has agreed to buy Schroders in an all-cash deal valuing the UK investment manager at £9.9 billion ($13.5 billion), a transaction that would create a super-sized firm with nearly $2.5 trillion in assets under management.

Under the terms of the deal, Chicago-based Nuveen, which manages $1.4 trillion in assets, will acquire the entire issued and to-be-issued share capital of London-listed Schroders, a manager of $1.1 trillion, the companies said Thursday in a release. The combined group would rank among the largest active managers globally, with operations in more than 40 markets across equities, fixed income, infrastructure, real estate and private capital.

The expectation is that Schroders will continue to operate as a stand-alone business within the wider Nuveen group for at least 12 months after the deal’s completion. Richard Oldfield is to remain as CEO of Schroders, reporting to Nuveen CEO William Huffman, and become a member of the executive management team at Nuveen, a division of Manhattan-based finance giant TIAA.

“This transaction is about unlocking new growth opportunities for wealth and institutional investors around the world by giving our leading, differentiated public-to-private platform a broader global presence,” Huffman said.

London Base

London will serve as the combined group’s non-US headquarters and largest office, employing over 3,100 staff, in recognition of Schroders’ deep-rooted history, strong brand and status as a pre-eminent financial institution, according to the announcement.

The deal has been unanimously approved by the boards of both companies, with Schroders’ board recommending the offer to shareholders. Trustee companies representing 41 percent of Schroders shares have also irrevocably agreed to vote in favour.

“The transaction will significantly accelerate our growth plans to create a leading public-to-private platform with enhanced geographic reach and a strengthened balance sheet,” Oldfield said. “Together, we can create an exceptional opportunity to provide clients with a true breadth of high-quality solutions to meet their evolving needs.”

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to shareholder approval and customary regulatory and antitrust clearances.

Schroders’ stock surged more than 28 percent in Thursday morning trading to £5.88 on the news, bringing it close to Nuveen’s offer price of £5.90 a share, as investors priced in the deal premium and a high likelihood of completion. The shares had climbed in recent months as Schroders refocused its business and exited underperforming markets like Brazil and Indonesia.

Asia Pacific Reboot

The M&A deal comes less than six months after Schroders named a new head of its Asia Pacific real estate business, as it signalled a reboot in the wake of defaults on loans tied to Hong Kong assets acquired under its most recent fund.

Jun Ando, formerly a managing director with the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, took up his new post in September as Andrew Moore moved into a chairman role. While Schroders had built its Asia real estate business through the 2020 acquisition of Moore’s Hong Kong-based Pamfleet, Ando is based in Singapore.

The leadership change was announced as receivers sold The Nate, a property on Hong Kong’s Nathan Road that had been seized after a fund managed by Schroders defaulted on loans. UOB is also reportedly mulling the seizure of a Hong Kong shopping mall held by a Schroders JV with UK investor Chelsfield, as loans on that property also turned sour.