The BT Pensions Scheme (BTPS) has agreed to sell its remaining stake in Hermes Investment Management to US investor Federated Investors for £115m.
Britain’s biggest private sector pension scheme sold 60% of its holding in the UK fund group to Federated in 2018, but has now agreed to part with its leftover 29.5% stake, according to Sky News.
The valuation of BTPS’ remaining stake, which was independently valued by Duffs and Phelps, gives Hermes an enterprise value of £395m, a third higher than Federated’s initial estimate.
The follow-on deal closes the chapter on BT’s relationship with Hermes, which was initially set up in 1983 as an in-house manager but blossomed into a fully fledged asset manager, with strategies across equities, fixed income and private markets, and a pioneer in the ESG investing space.
In February 2020 Federated and Hermes rebranded under one name, Federated Hermes, to reflect the “combining of two leading active management firms”. The transatlantic group manages £450bn in assets.
Federated Hermes declined to comment.
