Aberdeen Investments has bought closed end funds from MFS, with assets totalling £1.5bn.
The deal will see 9 MFS funds and one existing Aberdeen closed end fund consolidated to create two active closed end funds.
They will comprise:
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Some 4 MFS municipal bond closed end funds and one Aberdeen Municipal bond closed end fund to create around a $1bn (£747.7mn) assets under management municipal bond fund
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Some 5 MFS taxable fixed income funds which will merge to create approximately a $1.4bn (£1.04bn) assets under management multisector fixed income closed end fund (including private credit)
Christian Pittard, head of closed end funds and managing director, corporate finance at Aberdeen Investments, said: “This is an exciting opportunity to bring our institutional skills and leadership in fixed income and private credit to US retail investors through a liquid, closed end fund structure.
“The enlarged funds will come with real scale and will focus on areas of deep expertise for Aberdeen where we see clear potential for further growth. MFS pioneered US mutual funds back in 1924, and we are proud they have chosen Aberdeen for this agreement.”
No staff or corporate entities will transfer as part of the transaction, and the acquisition is income accretive from year one.
Both funds will be managed by Aberdeen’s global head of fixed income, Jonathan Mondillo.
The multisector fund is Aberdeen’s first step in the US into this part of the market, investing in a variety of bonds from different sectors, including private credit.
Aberdeen currently manages around £21.4bn in closed end funds.
alina.khan@ft.com
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