Fund management firm Standard Life Wealth (SLW) has agreed to pay up to 83.5m pounds for Newton's private clients division.

The transaction will add an extra £3.6bn in assets under management to Standard Life´s business unit.

SLW expects the deal will more than triple its discretionary assets, creating a private client wealth manager in the UK with increased profitability, significant scale and market presence.

The acquisition is anticipated to be accretive to earnings in the first full year following completion within an estimated seven months.

All 79 of Newton's private client staff will be transfered to SLW.

Standard Life said the newly merged business will leverage a pooled distribution of capability across professional advisers, the charity sector and SLW's extensive international financial advisors network.

"This acquisition complements SLW's impressive growth to date and provides us with a unique opportunity to accelerate our onshore and offshore strategy," said SLW Chief Executive Richard Charnock.

"We are bringing together additional skills, clients and assets to create a discretionary wealth manager of significant scale and market presence."

Caroline Tye, Head of Private Clients at Newton, added: "We are delighted to be joining such a highly regarded discretionary investment management business and are excited by the opportunities that it presents both for our clients and for the team.

"Standard Life Wealth places private clients at the core of its investment offering, enabling us to maintain our long tradition of tailored portfolio management focused on our clients' individual needs and aspirations."

RD

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