(September 19 – 12:20 ET) – Templeton Management Ltd. may be about to be acquired by German insurance giant Allianz AG.
TheStreet.com and Reuters are both reporting that Allianz is in preliminary takeover talks with Templeton’s parent, asset manager Franklin Resources Inc. Allianz is reportedly looking to spend to boost its exposure to the U.S. asset management business. At the end of last month Franklin had US$236 billion total in assets, including $20 billion in Templeton in Canada. Toronto’s Templeton recently acquired Calgary’s Bissett Investment Management Corp.
Earlier this year Allianz spent US$3.3 billion for prominent U.S. bond fund manager PIMCO. It is now reportedly also talking to Waddell & Reed and Gabelli Asset Management about possible deals. Allianz has declined comment.
Merrill Lynch says the talk is “overblown [in the] intermediate term”. It sees Franklin as an opportunistic buyer, building scale globally. “It remains our favorite pure play asset manager name in a sector becoming increasingly frothy due to intense M&A speculation.”
-IE Staff