Standard Life and Aberdeen complete merger to create asset management behemoth

The proposed merger between asset management giant Standard Life and rival Aberdeen has been completed following court approval, the companies confirmed on Monday (14 August).

The £11bn merger would see the combined entity - Standard Life Aberdeen - become Europe's second-biggest fund manager, holding a colossal £670bn in assets under management.

The new company will be jointly led by Standard Life's Keith Skeoch and Aberdeen boss Martin Gilbert. Co-chief executive Skeoch said the move was the "beginning of a new chapter" in the firms' history.

"Our leadership team is in place and we have full business readiness from day one. As ever our priority remains the delivery of strong investment performance and the highest level of client service.

"The merger deepens and broadens our investment capabilities and gives us a stronger and more diverse range of investment management skills as well as significant scale across asset classes and geographies."

The merger, agreed in March, would result in cost savings of £200m a year, with the loss of 800 jobs over three years from a global workforce of 9,000.

The company will have offices in 50 cities servicing clients in 80 countries.