LONDON (Reuters) - Aberdeen Asset Management (L:ADN) has denied press speculation it is looking for a buyer, as it seeks to reverse an extended stock price decline and hold onto clients spooked by recent volatility in its key Asian stock markets.
Britain's Financial Times newspaper said Aberdeen's CEO Martin Gilbert had begun to court possible suitors, in an effort to staunch asset outflows and prevent an exodus of key staff worried about how company performance could hurt bonuses.
"In his 32 years running Aberdeen, Martin Gilbert has never approached anyone, formally or informally, about buying the business," a spokesman for Aberdeen said in an emailed statement.
Aberdeen's shares, which have tumbled 19 percent this year, were trading 5 percent higher at 370 pence at 0806 GMT on Monday, a rise some analysts attributed to short-sellers who had bet on falls in the share price and were now looking to cover their positions.
"We believe that selling now would be an admission of failure, and that a potential buyer would clearly understand the challenges that Aberdeen is facing and reflect that in its determination of value for the company," RBC analyst Peter Lenardos said in a note to clients.
"We believe that CEOs routinely meet with industry participants to discuss ways to maximise shareholder value, and that no formal sale process is underway," Lenardos said.
Aberdeen said it would retain its emerging markets focus after investors withdrew almost 10 billion pounds of assets in the three months to end-June.
"We won't change our investment style, so we need to ride this out, it's painful," Gilbert told Reuters at the time.
Last month, a newly created Aberdeen subsidiary secured a business licence from China that will enable it to set up an office in Shanghai under a pilot free-trade scheme in a move that underscored Aberdeen's commitment to Asian expansion.
The company, which holds top 10 shareholding positions in Asia-focused banks Standard Chartered (L:STAN) and HSBC, has warned investors that China's stock market is prone to overheating and questioned the quality of some bond issuance.