Nuveen's price for Schroders 'too cheap', says Panmure Liberum

(Sharecast News) - Panmure Liberum said on Thursday that US investment manager Nuveen's 612p a share takeover offer for Schroders is "too cheap" and "only a touch ahead of where we might have been pitching a new target price in an independent world". Schroders shares surged nearly 30% on Thursday after it agreed to be taken over by Nuveen in £9.9bn deal. Under the terms of the acquisition, Nuveen - which is part of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America - will pay 612p per share.

The price comprises a cash consideration of 590p a share and permitted dividends of up to 22p per share. The cash consideration is a 29% premium to the closing share price on Wednesday.

Responding to the news, Panmure said it had a note ready to outline how well the company had done, how quickly management had delivered change, how much more upside there was to come as the market started to fully appreciate all that had happened in just 15 months.

"Instead Nuveen will take the spoils, offering 612p per share, only a touch ahead of where we might have been pitching a new target price in an independent world," it said.

"With the offer being recommended the Family has clearly decided to move on, but the rest of us will be poorer for it."

Panmure continued: "Who would ever have believed in Schroders being bid for? Certainly not us for most of the last three and half decades, but then after a prolonged period of share price underperformance resulting from a prolonged period of poor management and business drift, there were the first signs of a change in the attitude of the Family.

"We fear that the offer came too soon in the process of change, and another year of the kind of change seen already in 15 months might have put the share price in a different starting place."

Panmure Liberum has a 'buy' rating and 475p price target on the stock.