Great-West Lifeco Inc. has signed a deal to sell U.S.-based asset manager Putnam Investments to Franklin Resources Inc. and agreed to a strategic partnership. The Putnam Investments logo is shown in this recent handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Putnam Investments
WINNIPEG – Great-West Lifeco Inc. has signed a deal to sell U.S.-based asset manager Putnam Investments to Franklin Resources Inc. and agreed to a strategic partnership.
Under the deal, the company that operates as Franklin Templeton will make a payment of US$950 million to US$1.0 billion, consisting of 33.33 million shares at closing and US$100 million in cash six months after closing. It will also pay up to US$375 million between three and seven years after the deal closes, tied to the growth of the partnership.
Great-West Lifeco will keep its controlling interest in quantitative asset manager PanAgora, and realize the value of Putnam’s seed capital, which, together with closing adjustments, are estimated to be worth US$375 million to US$425 million.
It will also retain certain deferred tax assets related to Putnam.
Under the partnership, Great-West Lifeco will distribute Franklin Templeton products and allocate an initial US$25 billion in assets under management to Franklin Templeton’s specialist investment managers within 12 months of the deal closing.
Great-West Lifeco has also agreed to retain shares representing about a 4.9 per cent stake in Franklin Templeton for a minimum five-year period.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 31, 2023.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GWO, TSX:POW)
