Canada's Bank of Montreal confirmed on Tuesday it will acquire UK fund manager F&C Asset Management, operator of the world's oldest investment trust, for an agreed 708 million pounds ($1.17 billion) in cash to expand its wealth management arm. The announcement follows a statement from F&C on Monday that it had received an offer, sending its shares up 28 percent at one point, to close at 116.4 pence.F&C said its shareholders will be entitled to receive 120 pence in cash for each F&C share held.The fund manager, which traces its roots back to the launch of the Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust in 1868, also updated the market, saying it had 82.1 billion pounds of assets under management at the end of 2013, down from 90.1 billion three months earlier.
Bank of Montreal (BMO Financial Group) is a diversified financial services provider that provides a range of retail banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services. Shares of BMO fell by 2.33% or $-1.51/share to $63.37. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $55.61 and as high as $71.26. On average, 355297 shares of BMO exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 654002.
Shares of BMO fell by 2.14% or $-1.54/share to $70.46. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $58.68 and as high as $74.69. On average, 1362540 shares of BMO.TO exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 2574758.
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