REG-Termination of Merger Talks <Origin Href="QuoteRef">RAT.L</Origin>

RathbonesAnnouncement

31/08/2017 18:31

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For immediate release

31 August 2017

Rathbone Brothers Plc ("Rathbones")

Termination of Merger Talks

The Board of Rathbones announces that further to the announcement made on 21
August 2017, exclusive merger discussions with Smith & Williamson have been
terminated.

Following very extensive due diligence and negotiations, we have been unable
to conclude a transaction that is in the best interests of Rathbones
shareholders.

Philip Howell, Chief Executive said:

"We continue to believe that our proposition was both a compelling strategic
and value creation opportunity for all Smith & Williamson's stakeholders. The
potential combination was intended to accelerate Rathbones' existing strategy,
but ultimately we were unable to agree terms that offered our shareholders an
appropriate balance of risk and reward. Rathbones remains confident in its
strategy and will continue to look for growth opportunities in the sector and
assess them with discipline."

Rathbones has incurred a non-underlying charge of approximately £5 million in
2017 for expenses associated with the prospective transaction, of which £1.8
million was reported within other expenses in our interim statement for the
six months ended 30 June 2017.

The person responsible for arranging this announcement on behalf of Rathbones
is Ali Johnson, Company Secretary.

For further information contact:

 Rathbone Brothers Plc Philip Howell, Chief Executive Paul Stockton, Finance Director                         +44 (0) 20 7399 0000 
 Camarco (Communications Adviser) Ed Gascoigne-Pees Hazel Stevenson                     +44 (0) 20 3757 4984  +44 (0) 20 3757 4989 

 

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Source: Rathbone Brothers Plc via Globenewswire