FUND management veteran Martin Gilbert was thrown into a bidding war for River and Mercantile (R&M) after the asset manager yesterday revealed it has been approached by more than one suitor.

Both AssetCo, an Aim-listed acquisition vehicle chaired by Gilbert, and rival fund manager Premier Miton have made bids for R&M.

Both firms already have stakes in R&M, with AssetCo holding 5.8 per cent, and Premier Miton five per cent.

Gilbert, an investment industry heavyweight, founded Aberdeen Asset Management in 1983 and helped to arrange the £11bn merger between Standard Life Investments and Aberdeen Asset Management in 2017, which led to the creation of Abrdn.

The wellknown fund management veteran has con- tinued his spree of acquisitions since April when he was named chair of AssetCo, which has since acquired Scottish asset management boutique Saracen Fund Managers.

As Gilbert is also the deputy chair of River and Mercantile, he has recused himself from the company's board while discussions about a deal take place, according to a statement by AssetCo.

Rival bidder Premier Miton said it had been assessing the merits of a merger, which would reportedly create a group with close to £20bn of assets, with R&M "for a period of time."

The scale and cultural alignment between the companies would, Premier Miton said in a statement: "deliver a balanced and resilient business across a diversified product offering, enabling employees of the combined businesses to maximise their potential."

(c) 2021 City A.M., source Newspaper