Brewin Dolphin shares soar on £1.6 bn Canadian takeover

Shares in UK asset manager Brewin Dolphin soared Thursday after agreeing to a £1.6-billion takeover from Royal Bank of Canada, which is targeting rapid expansion in Britain.

The group’s share price leapt just over 60 percent to 511.07 pence in late afternoon trade after news of the cash deal, which valued Brewin at the equivalent of $2.1 billion or 1.9 billion euros.

“This is a transformative acquisition for RBC Wealth Management and cements RBC’s position as a market leader across multiple business platforms in the UK, the Channel Islands and Europe,” said RBC Capital Markets Europe CEO David Thomas.

The deal, pitched at 515 pence, represented a 62-percent increase on Wednesday’s closing level.

The combined group would have £64 billion of assets under management, annual revenues of £545 million.

“The UK is a key growth market for RBC, and Brewin Dolphin provides us with an exceptional platform to significantly transform our wealth management business in the region,” added Doug Guzman, head of RBC Wealth Management.

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