Standard Life Investments buys fund manager Ignis for £390m

Standard Life Investments, the Edinburgh-based pensions and insurance firm, has bought Ignis Asset Management from life assurer Phoenix Group.

The company paid £390m for Ignis and says the deal will mean its assets under management will increase by more than 30% to £240bn.

The move will accelerate Standard Life Investments' move away from insurance to managing funds for outside clients.

Parent company Standard Life shares jumped nearly 7% following the news.

It means the company's stock market value rose by more than £550m, comfortably exceeding the price it paid for Ignis.

The purchase means Standard Life Investments will become one of the UK's biggest investment managers with 81% of its revenues coming from fund management.

Keith Skeoch, chief executive of Standard Life Investments, said: "This acquisition is entirely complementary, deepening our investment capabilities, broadening our third party client base and strengthening our strategic position"

He said that the acquisition would mean some job losses, but create annual savings of £50m after three years.