Key Takeaways:
- A takeover bid from US asset manager Nuveen would create an asset management firm with USD 2.5 trillion of assets under management.
- The proposed deal values Schroders at £6.12 per share, including dividends.
- Morningstar equity analyst Johann Scholtz says that investors may hold out for a better price.
A £9.9 billion bid to buy the 222 year-old UK asset management firm Schroders SDR by US asset manager Nuveen has sent Schroders’ stock soaring 28%.
The proposed deal, which values Schroders at £6.12 per share including a dividend, is a premium on the £4.53 the UK asset manager was trading at prior to the announcement on Thursday morning. Schroders, which was founded in 1804, has weathered a poor stock price performance over the last five years, and is down 2% over that time. In 2025, it rose around 21% as financial stocks returned to favor. Year to date, the company’s stock has risen around 43%, including the intraday gains.
In a statement on Thursday, Schroders said the deal would create “one of the world’s largest asset managers” with nearly USD 2.5 trillion in assets under management. The deal will likely complete in the final quarter of the year, and will be subject to regulatory approval.
Morningstar senior equity analyst Johann Scholtz says that the deal looks “opportunistic.”
“With Schroders finally showing positive net inflows and efficiency gains lifting margins, Nuveen’s bid lands just as the company is regaining momentum,” he says.
“That makes this offer look opportunistic. Despite board support, only 41% of shareholders have given irrevocable backing, suggesting significant room for holdouts to push for a higher price. With the fundamentals improving and shareholder alignment far from locked, this story is unlikely to end at the current terms,” he adds.
The shares of UK-listed asset manager peers rose in response, with Man Group EMG, Aberdeen ABDN, and AJ Bell AJB all gaining around 4%.
Why is Nuveen Trying to Buy Schroders Now?
Thursday’s takeover announcement puts large mergers and acquisitions in London back on the agenda following a standout year in 2025, when the UK’s FTSE 100 index hit repeated record highs, closing above the 10,000 mark for the first time in its history in early January 2026. It also follows a smaller deal—by retail bank NatWest Group—to purchase UK wealth manager Evelyn Partners for £2.7 billion. This consolidation trend has been driven by global events, as investors diversified away from the US, and the UK’s cash-rich financial services sector looked once more attractive.
However, the announcement also follows a recent rockier ride for Schroders, which has been London-listed since 1959. The company had been undertaking a transformation plan following years of underperformance, which had only recently begun to reverse. In its statement to markets, Schroders said the proposed deal was the first approach made by Nuveen.
“The board believes that the terms of the transaction represent attractive and certain value for shareholders, at an attractive multiple and at premiums that reflect both the value that would have otherwise been delivered over time as Schroders executes its stand-alone strategy, as well as upfront value for the significant benefits that are expected to arise from the combination with Nuveen over the longer term,” Schroders says.
This is ultimately a reflection of Schroders sitting in an “uncomfortable middle ground,” Morningstar’s Scholtz says. “It has neither the scale to compete against the global giants nor is it a nimble boutique focused on a niche.”
That may be another reason why Schroders shareholders have very little room for maneuver in entertaining higher bids, says AJ Bell head of markets Dan Coatsworth.
The 34% bid premium including dividends is below the 44% average year-to-date, he says, and there may be grumbles from shareholders that the takeout price is not generous.
“Unfortunately for disgruntled shareholders, there’s not a lot they can do in this situation. The Schroders family own approximately 45% of the business and they’ve indicated support for the bid at the current price. What they say goes in this situation, given the scale of their voting power,” Coatsworth says.
Is Schroders Stock a Buy Right Now?
Prior to the deal, Morningstar’s Scholtz assigned a Morningstar fair value estimate of £4.25 to Schroders stock, with its pre-takeover share price placing it in fairly-valued 3-star territory. Since news of the bid hit markets, the stock is now trading significantly higher at around £5.87 per share.
In his assessment of the company’s fortunes, Scholtz said Schroders’ asset management business model remains “highly cash generative” and that it is still attracting net new inflows above its industry average. That, he says, is based on “investment performance, advisory relationships, and having the right products available.”
Nevertheless, he also highlights that UK active management is in a “secular decline,” and that Schroders has not been spared from the race to the bottom on fee pressure, with fee margins declining by one third over the past 10 years.
