The £11billion merger between Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management was completed yesterday, with the tie-up creating Europe’s second-biggest fund manager.
A Stock Exchange announcement yesterday confirmed the deal’s conclusion, and follows on from court approval for the merger last week.
The plans to form Standard Life Aberdeen were first announced on March 6 with 800 jobs expected to be lost over a three-year period from a global workforce of 9,000.
Yesterday Aberdeen boss Martin Gilbert insisted customer satisfaction was at the top of their list of priorities.
He said: “As ever our priority remains the delivery of strong investment performance and the highest level of client service.
“The merger deepens and broadens our investment capabilities and gives us a stronger and more diverse range of investment management skills as well as significant scale across asset classes and geographies.”
Co-chief executive Keith Skeoch described the merger as the “beginning of a new chapter” in the companies’ history.
“Today marks the culmination of many months of hard work and preparation by our business, and the beginning of a new chapter in our history as Standard Life Aberdeen plc,” he said.
“Our leadership team is in place and we have full business readiness from day one.
“Our people have worked exceptionally well together to complete the merger on schedule and we would like to thank them for this.
“The co-operation and collaboration we have witnessed bodes well for the on-going integration of the business, and in helping us create a world-class investment company for our clients, shareholders and our people.”
In a statement released on behalf of the new firm it said the merger “harnesses Standard Life’s and Aberdeen’s complementary, market leading investment and savings capabilities” It added: “It creates an investment group with strong brands, leading institutional and wholesale distribution franchises, market leading platforms and access to long-standing, strategic partnerships globally.
By combining the two companies’ strong balance sheets, the combined group will have greater ability to invest for growth and innovate.” The enlarged company will be jointly headed up by Mr Skeoch and Mr Gilbert, and Standard Life Aberdeen will hold £670billion under management.
The merger is targeting cost savings of £200million a year. Overall, Standard Life Aberdeen will have offices in 50 cities around the world, servicing clients in 80 countries.