UK's Aberdeen halves Standard Life stake (updated)
UPDATE 1-UK's Aberdeen halves Standard Life stake Updates Oct 7 story to add details of the completed sale, shares, analyst comment
Oct 8 (Reuters) - Aberdeen ABDN.L has sold 52 million shares in insurer Standard Life SDLF.L, halving its stake to about 5.2%, as the British asset manager pushes ahead with efforts to simplify its structure.
The sale comes as Aberdeen CEO Jason Windsor works to streamline the asset manager and sharpen its focus on wealth and investments, amid volatile markets, fee pressure and shifting investor flows.
Aberdeen sold the shares at 839 pence per share, at a 3.7% discount to Standard Life's previous close, for gross proceeds of about £436 million ($575.5 million).
Shares in Standard Life fell 4% and Aberdeen gained 1.4% by 0821 GMT on Thursday.
"This supports our view that management will seek to unlock the value embedded within Aberdeen's SOTP (sum-of-the-parts) and continue simplifying the group," analysts at Peel Hunt said in a note.
The sale will have no impact on Aberdeen's 2026 targets of adjusted operating profit and net capital generation of at least £300 million, the company said in a statement ahead of the sale on Wednesday.
Aberdeen's dividend policy also remains unchanged following the transaction.
Aberdeen added that it expects to redeem £210 million of Additional Tier 1 debt, a form of loss-absorbing capital, at its first call date in December 2026.
($1 = 0.7570 pounds)
(Reporting by Rishab Shaju in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Joe Bavier)
((Rishab.shaju@thomsonreuters.com ; +91 9048142177))