Company Announcements

Standard Life Aberdeen plc ("the Company")

Offer for sale of shares in HDFC Asset Management Company Limited ("HDFC AMC") by Standard Life Investments Limited ("SLI")

The Company notes that on Tuesday, 3 December 2019, SLI informed the National Stock Exchange of India Limited and the Bombay Stock Exchange Limited that it intends to commence an offer for sale process ("Offer") in respect of up to 4,750,000 shares in HDFC AMC (the "Base Shares"), with an option to additionally sell up to 3,850,000 shares (the "Additional Shares") through the Offer in event of oversubscription.  Collectively this amounts to 8,600,000 shares in HDFC AMC (the "Collective Shares").

The Offer will open and close for Non Retail Investors on Wednesday, 4 December 2019 and the Offer will open and close for Retail Investors and Non Retail Investors who choose to carry forward their bids on Thursday, 5 December 2019.  The floor price for the Offer is Rs 3170.0 per Share. 

Assuming full subscription of the Base Shares at the floor price disclosed, SLI would anticipate receiving approximately Rs 13,293bn (c£142m¹), net of taxes and expenses, from the sale pursuant to the Offer.  In the event of oversubscription and were the full amount of Additional Shares also to be sold, SLI would anticipate receiving an additional Rs 10,774bn (c£116m¹), net of taxes and expenses.

The Collective Shares constitute 4.04% of the paid-up, issued equity share capital of HDFC AMC.  Should all of the Collective Shares be sold through the Offer, SLI's remaining shareholding would be 25.89% of HDFC AMC.  Based on today's closing share price of Rs 3,442.8, the value of this remaining shareholding would be approximately Rs 190bn (c£2.03bn¹). 

Subject to satisfactory conclusion of the Offer, and given its existing capital strength, the Company intends to return the proceeds of the Offer to shareholders by way of a further share buyback programme, subject to both the relevant regulatory approvals and market conditions, and operating within the existing shareholder authorities.  Any such share buyback programme would follow the completion of the current programme, announced on 16 August 2019, and an associated market announcement would be made at the appropriate time. 

The Company has one of the strongest balance sheets in its industry, a competitive strength which allows it to balance return of surplus capital to shareholders with continuing to invest in a disciplined way in parts of its business that it believes will provide growth for the future.

3 December 2019

¹ Based on INR|GBP exchange rate of 93.3057

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Inside Information

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LEI: OTMBS544NMO7GLCE7H90

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