Anglo-Australian fund house Henderson Group plc (ASX:HGG) has announced the acquisition of a rival fund manager, Gartmore Group, for around $530 million.

The purchase is expected to create one of the largest fund managers in the UK, closing the book on Gartmore's troubled year as a public company and
boosting Henderson's assets under management by 27 per cent to near $124 billion.

Henderson said on Wednesday it will pay 0.6667 new share for every Gartmore share, putting a 92.1 pence price on each for a 1.7 percent premium to Tuesday's close and valuing the business at 335 million pounds. The boards of Both Henderson and Gartmore have unanimously recommended the deal.

Despite a difficult year for Gartmore, Henderson says its assets are performing well and integrating the business will boost margins significantly.

Henderson shares climbed 10 percent to a nine-month high at 12:45 British time, while Gartmore lifted 10.8 percent at 100.4 pence.

With Reuters