In the statement, the purchase of F&C by the Canadian bank is subject to shareholder approval and is expected to be completed in May.
Bill Downe, chief executive officer at BMO, said the acquisition would add “scope and scale” to the company’s already “well-established portfolio” of wealth management activities.
In a statement from BMO, the bank said the offer was 28 per cent up on F&C’s closing share price on 24 January, putting the value of issued share capital at £708m.
Under the terms of the deal, F&C’s shareholders have been offered 120p per cash share offer and will also receive their usual dividend of 2p per share for the last financial year. The development sees assets under management at BMO now rise to £162bn.
The deal follows a torrid time for F&C, which launched one of the first investment trusts, the £2.6bn F&C Investment Trust, in 1868.
In February 2011, activist chairman Edward Bramson wrested control of the group’s leadership from Nick MacAndrew, amid concerns about outflows, modest earnings and failures to cut costs.
Mr Bramson stepped down in August last year. Richard Wilson, the firm’s chief executive officer, insisted that F&C had made “significant progress” in the last couple of years.
Jason Hollands, managing director for London-based Bestinvest, said the premium on the share price offer was “good news” for shareholders, many of whom would be staff members.
He added: “One would hope that this deal will give them a stable, strong parent company.”
