Schroders has accepted a £9.9bn acquisition offer from US investment giant Nuveen, bringing to a close more than 200 years of family ownership at the historic British asset manager.
Chicago-headquartered Nuveen, a top-20 global asset manager, said on Thursday that it will acquire the City-based company in a move that will create one of the largest fund management businesses globally, overseeing approximately $2.5tn (£1.8tn) in assets, by combining Nuveen’s AuM of $1.4tn with Schroders’ £824bn.
The surprise merger is likely to see the combined group become Europe’s second largest asset manager after Paris-based Amundi, which last week reported a 6% rise in AuM in 2025 to $2.82tn. The new group would, however, overtake L&G (which has AuM of £1.3tn) to become the largest fund manager in the UK though some way off the assets held by US giants such as BlackRock ($14tn) and Vanguard ($12tn), the two largest global asset managers.
FTSE-100-listed Schroders is expected to de-list when it becomes part of privately-owned Nuveen, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA), a large US institutional investor.
Schroders’ London headquarters, which currently employs around 3,100 staff, will become the combined group’s non-US headquarters and largest office and the business will continue to operate under the Schroders name, according to a statement issued by both companies.
Founded in 1804 by Hamburg financier Johann Schröder, the company began as a London merchant bank, floating on the London Stock Exchange in 1959 and divesting its investment banking division in 2000 to concentrate on asset management.
The Anglo-German Schroder family dynasty, currently led by heiress Leonie Schroder, is believed to be worth £3.93bn according to the Sunday Times rich list.
In recent years the company has faced mounting challenges. A sharp fall in its share price and intensifying competition from low-cost US rivals such as BlackRock and Vanguard have driven efforts to streamline operations. Last year, Schroders unveiled a £150m cost-reduction programme aimed at improving performance.
As recently as July, chief executive Richard Oldfield dismissed suggestions that the Schroder family — which retains a 44% stake — might consider selling. Under the terms of the deal, the family’s holding is valued at £4.4bn.
Since becoming CEO in November 2024, Oldfield has reshaped the business, ending a joint financial advice venture with Lloyds Banking Group and withdrawing from markets in Brazil and Indonesia.
He said: “The transaction will significantly accelerate our growth plans to create a leading public-to-private platform with enhanced geographic reach and a strengthened balance sheet.
“Together, we can create an exceptional opportunity to provide clients with a true breadth of high-quality solutions to meet their evolving needs.”
Nuveen CEO William Huffman said: “This transaction is about unlocking new growth opportunities for wealth and institutional investors around the world by giving our leading, differentiated public-to-private platform a broader global presence”.
Nuveen’s offer values Schroders at 612p per share — a premium of 34% to Wednesday’s closing price, comprising 590p in cash plus a 22p dividend paid to shareholders before the transaction completes.
Shares in Schroders climbed 30% to 592p on Thursday following the announcement. The transaction remains subject to shareholder approval and is anticipated to complete in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Separately, Schroders reported a 25% rise in adjusted operating profit to £756.6m for 2025 while pre-tax profits rose 21% to £674m.
