French investor Tikehau eyes 'commercial collaboration' with Schroders (updated)

Tikehau Capital SCA

20/02/2025 11:14

(Adds context including relative size, strategy from paragraph
2, analyst comment in paragraph 6)
    By Stefania  Spezzati and Iain Withers
       LONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Tikehau Capital  TKOO.PA , a
French fund with 49 billion euros ($51 billion) under
management, said there could be a "commercial collaboration in
the future" with Schroders  SDR.L  after it acquired a 4% stake
in the asset management firm.
    The Paris-based firm, which mainly invests in private
credit, disclosed its Schroders stake in regulatory filings last
week, making it a top ten investor in the FTSE 100 money
manager, according to LSEG data.
    Schroders is one of Europe's largest investment firms,
managing 773.7 billion pounds ($975 billion) of client funds.
Like many rivals, the active investor has struggled to stem
outflows as cheaper index-tracker products offered by the likes
of U.S. giants BlackRock and Vanguard have gained traction.
    The British company - which still counts its founding
Schroder family as its biggest investor with about a 44% stake -
is set to present a strategy update and earnings in early March,
the first under new CEO Richard Oldfield.
    "Schroders is probably one of the best remaining global
brands ... there may be some commercial collaboration in the
future," Tikehau co-founder Antoine Flamarion said during a call
with investors on Thursday, without elaborating further.
    Analysts at Citi said in a note on Monday prior to the
comments that any partnership between the two firms could help
Tikehau distribute its funds more widely, while Schroders could
bulk up its direct lending offering.
    A spokesperson for Schroders declined to comment.
    Tikehau had bought about 55 million euros ($57 million) of
Schroders shares as of December last year, it said on Thursday. 
    It has recently built relationships with other asset
managers, including Tokyo-based Nikko AM to expand in Asia. 
    "The financial industry is changing very fast, we see a lot
of value in the traditional asset management, and that's why we
decided to do this financial investment," said Flamarion.
($1 = 0.9583 euros)

 (Reporting by Stefania Spezzati and Iain Withers; editing by
Giles Elgood and Elaine Hardcastle)
 ((Stefania.Spezzati@thomsonreuters.com;))