Over the weekend, The Telegraph reported that Rathbones and Permira were entering a £200m bidding war over the Glasgow-based stockbroker.
In a statement this morning, Rathbones confirmed that discussions are taking place with Speirs & Jeffrey, but an offer is yet to be made.
It said: “Rathbones regularly assesses various acquisition opportunities in line with its stated strategy and accordingly confirms that discussions between Rathbones and Speirs & Jeffrey in relation to a possible acquisition of Speirs & Jeffrey by Rathbones are taking place.
“No binding offer has been made and there can be no certainty that any binding offer will be made nor that agreement will be reached with the board and shareholders of Speirs & Jeffrey.”
This follows Rathbones’ attempt last year to buy financial services firm Smith & Williamson, before Tilney Group, which is majority owned by Permira, submitted a last-minute bid to derail a merger.
The bid eventually collapsed after Smith & Williamson opted to pursue a stock market listing instead.
Speirs & Jeffrey, which was founded in 1906, runs £5.5bn in assets and is wholly owned by the business’ working directors. The firm has only had 21 partners/directors, 10 of whom are in the business today.
A spokesperson for Rathbones told Portfolio Adviser it could not comment further, while Permira declined to comment.
