Merchant acquires £300m Keydata book

The deal takes Merchant's assets under management to £400m, of which Keydata accounts for £300m. It also sees the transfer of around 18,000 plans across 20 products. However, the transaction excludes Keydata's troubled Lifemark and SLS life settlement plans. Last month, Meteor Asset Management walked away from negotiations to buy Keydata's structured products books saying PwC attempted to increase the asking price at the last minute. John Gracey, a director in Merchant Capital's structured product business, says: "This acquisition fits in with our strategy to become a leading playe...