A money manager for independent financial advisors who was sold by fund manager Abrdn for £102m just 18 months ago is exploring a sale that could value it at four times that amount.
Sky News has learned that Parmenion, which has around £9 billion in assets under management (AUM), is being marketed to potential strategic investors.
City sources said on Wednesday that Parmenion shareholders wanted to sell a substantial stake at a valuation of £300 million and £400 million, generating a strong return on their March 2021 deal. .
The change in the platform’s valuation in such a short time would be an embarrassment to them soon after it was dropped from London’s FTSE-100 blue-chip share index.
That confusion will be underscored by the fact that a 30% stake in Parmenion is owned by AssetCo, the company led by former Abrdn chief executive Martin Gilbert.
Parmenion’s remaining equity is held by Preservation Capital Partners, a private equity firm.
Fenchurch Advisory Partners, the investment banking outlet headed by Conservative treasurer Malik Karim, is advising on the latest share sale.
It also advised Standard Life Aberdeen – as abrdn later became known – on the initial transaction last year.
Insiders say Preservation and AssetCo are unlikely to sell their entire stake in Parmenion, although a knockout offer could convince them to reconsider.
The decision by Stephen Bird, abrdn’s chief executive, to cut off the business last year formed part of his bid to simplify what, under Mr Gilbert, has become a corporation wealth management and broader financial services.
Since being formed from the merger of Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management five years ago, the group has seen a decline in market capitalization.
On Wednesday, shares at abrdn closed at 153.65p, down more than 40% in the last year.
Abrdn is currently valued at just £3.3 billion, yes spent £1.5 billion acquiring Interactive Investordirect-to-consumer investment platform, last year.
According to a person close to asset manager FTSE-250, the inflated Parmenion valuation has a positive connotation for abrdn.
Based on their respective market share data, abrdn’s own platform business would be valued at up to £1.7 billion, according to an insider.
Parmenion was acquired by Aberdeen Asset Management during Mr Gilbert’s tenure for around £50m.
Mr Gilbert said at the time the business would put Aberdeen “at the forefront of the digital revolution in wealth management”.
On Wednesday, Parmenion said it had agreed to buy Midlands-based EBI Portfolio, which manages £1.9 billion in funds, for an undisclosed amount.
Parmenion and Fenchurch declined to comment.
