Putnam May Fetch a Good Offer Despite Difficulties

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Putnam May Get Impressive Price, Despite Troubles [Wall Street Journal]

Summary: Marsh & Mclennan expects high bids from companies interested in purchasing Putnam Investments, its mutual-fund and investment-management unit, in spite of recent difficulties. Last week, Amvescap PLC of the U.K., Unicredito Italiano SpA of Italy, and Power Corp. of Canada were expected to bid on Putnam, and the decision may require several weeks of deliberation. Putnam was investigated in 2003 for problematic trading, and in spite of the fact that the company has resolved most of the allegations, investors have been taking money out of the fund; assets under management, once $251 billion reached $187 billion this past October. However, Putnam may well bring in a premium of over 2%, the standard amount for asset managers. C. Meyrick Payne, senior partner with Management Practice Inc., predicts that Putnam may reach an "upper limit" of about 6%, while other analysts make more modest forecasts of around $4 billion.
Related links: Media coverage: Marketwatch • TheStreet.com • Marsh & Mclennan Financial Statements
Potentially impacted stocks and ETFs: Marsh & Mclennan (MMC) • Competitors: American International Group (AIG), Aon Corp. (AOC).

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