London, 19 January 2011 - Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE:BEN], a global investment management organisation operating as Franklin Templeton Investments, today announces completion of the acquisition by its subsidiary Franklin Templeton Global Investors Limited (UK) of Rensburg Fund Management Limited, a subsidiary of Investec plc. The purchase was closed in an all cash transaction for GBP 45 million (approximately USD 71 million) on 18
th
January 2011.
Greg Johnson, CEO of Franklin Resources, Inc. said: “We are pleased to announce our acquisition of Rensburg Fund Management, an established UK Equity manager with over 25 years of experience managing unit trusts. This acquisition is a great strategic fit with our organisation and reinforces our corporate strategy of providing our global clients with the best investment products in markets such as the UK, where local asset management expertise is important to meet local investors’ needs.”
Based in Leeds, UK, Rensburg Fund Management is a specialist UK Equity manager with a track record of managing unit trusts dating back to 1985. The team of six investment professionals is highly regarded within the UK asset management industry, with a combined tenure of 43 years managing six distinctive strategies: UK Equity Income; UK Blue Chip Growth; UK Midcap Growth; UK Select Growth; UK Smaller Companies and UK Managers’ Focus.
The group manages approximately GBP 935 million (approximately 1.5 billion USD as of 31 December 2010) in UK equities and is well positioned to take advantage of favourable growth drivers in the local market with its broad range of UK equity funds.
Commenting on this acquisition, Alex Brotherston, Joint Chief Executive of Rensburg Fund Management, said: “The management and investment teams are delighted that this transaction has now completed. We very much look forward to working with Franklin Templeton Investments as it allows us to maintain uninterrupted continuity for our clients in terms of investment team and process. This is an exciting and compelling opportunity for us to reinforce the strong momentum at Rensburg Fund Management.”
Jamie Hammond, Managing Director - Europe, Franklin Templeton Investments added: “Rensburg Fund Management’s strong track record and reputation in core UK equity products is an important addition to our existing line-up of global and specialist funds. This new partnership will strengthen Franklin Templeton’s position in the UK market as we introduce Rensburg Fund Management’s funds to our clients. We look forward to working with the Rensburg Fund Management team.”
Franklin Templeton Global Investors Limited (UK) is a subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE:BEN], a global investment management organisation operating as Franklin Templeton Investments. Franklin Templeton Investments provides global and domestic investment management solutions managed by its Franklin, Templeton, Mutual Series, Fiduciary Trust, Darby and Bissett investment teams. The San Mateo, CA-based company has more than 60 years of investment experience and over USD 670 billion in assets under management as of 31 December 2010. For more information, please visit
Investec plc is an international specialist bank and asset manager that provides a diverse range of financial products and services to a niche client base in three principal markets, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Australia, as well as certain other countries. The group was established in 1974 and currently has approximately 6,600 permanent employees. Investec focuses on delivering distinctive profitable solutions for its clients in six core areas of activity, namely Asset Management, Wealth and Investment, Property Activities, Private Banking, Investment Banking and Capital Markets. In July 2002 the Investec group implemented a dual listed company structure with listings on the London and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges.