Takeover rumors continue to circulate the crisis-ridden Swiss asset manager. Now GAM has instructed UBS bankers to find a buyer.
GAM, which was once Europe’s largest fund manager, instructed UBS late last year to secure a sale of the company, «FT» reports (behind paywall). GAM has not been able to turn its fate around since its ex-star fund manager Tim Haywood, left the company in 2018 and was charged with serious misconduct.
Since then, its business with the collapsed supply chain finance group Greensill Capital has added to the downward drag.
More Time
In January, the crisis-ridden company postponed the publication of its annual results until the end of April, in the hope that this would give it enough time to secure a deal, the newspaper writes, citing people familiar. GAM and UBS declined to comment.
An update on its strategic progress was also announced, along with the reassurance that the board of directors was continuously reviewing the company's progress to ensure that the strategy was appropriate and that the interests of all stakeholders were taken into account.
Large Loss
For 2022, GAM expects an adjusted pre-tax loss of around 42.8 million Swiss francs. Compared to 9.6 million francs in the previous year. The significant increase is due to high cash outflows.
The net loss is expected to be 309.9 million francs, up from a loss of 23.3 million francs in 2021.
Potential Interest
Generali was seen as a potential buyer in 2019, according to people familiar with the matter, however, GAM denied being in talks with the insurer at the time.
Furthermore, asset manager Bantleon, based in Germany and Switzerland, has been steadily reducing its stake in the long-suffering fund house. As of Feb. 3, its stake fell below the 3 percent threshold, according to GAM's media release.
