Henderson-Janus merger might just be the beginning

The last few months has seen the highest level of M&A activity on the ASX in the last 3-5 years, says Chris Stott, Chief Investment Officer at Wilson Asset Management. With balance sheets in great shape and private equity funds again in acquisition mode, he expects the trend to continue over the next 6-12 months. One of the big M&A stories recently has been the merger between Henderson Group and Janus Capital. With $320bn of FUM post-merger, this will set the entity up to be a dominant player. “The clear focus for the market will be the $120mn of synergies over the next couple of years… This might be the start of a new trend, where you start to see the amalgamation of funds management businesses over the next decade. Not only in Australia, but globally.” In the video below he discusses IPOs, including one that caught his attention.