Hooking up with another Scottish firm makes sense, though there may be boardroom trouble further down the line
Martin Gilbert of Aberdeen Asset Management, we thought, only had eyes for American suitors. He has been singing for ages about the appeal of the US, home of vast piles of investment cash, and he was an admirer of Anglo-Australian manager Henderson’s “clever” merger with Janus Capital of the US.
In the end, though, he has settled on a partner led by his old fishing chum Keith Skeoch 100 miles away in Edinburgh. Standard Life’s presence in the US, however, is rather like Aberdeen’s – small.
Related: Standard Life and Aberdeen seek to tie in key staff in £11bn merger