Jupiter Fund Management PLC (LON:JPM) raced higher as investors applauded the acquisition of rival asset manager Merian Global Investors Limited for £370mln.
Merian has £22.4bn under management and will significantly diversify Jupiter’s business, with its share of the top five funds dropping to 33% from 46%.
The acquisition takes the number of funds with more than £1bn under management down to 16 from ten, with cost savings from the deal expected to boost Jupiter's earnings by a low to mid-teen percentage from 2021 onwards.
Andrew Formica, Jupiter’s chief executive, said: "This is an exciting acquisition that enhances our position as a leading UK asset manager, provides increased scale and diversification into attractive product areas, and creates stronger future growth prospects for the business.”
Jupiter's shares rose 8% to 429.9p on the FTSE 250 index.