No Premium for Williams de Bröe as Evolution Announces Deal

Stephen Harris

5 June 2006

London-listed banking group, Evolution will announce the acquisition of loss making UK stockbroker Williams de Bröe for £15 million ($28 million) today, according to a report in the Financial Times. The price, which puts no premium on the business as it values it roughly in line with its net asset value, is about half what analyst expected owners ING to achieve for the broker, which lost £3.1 million last year. The acquisition of Williams de Bröe will double Evolution’s private client funds under management to just over £2 billion and will produced substantial back office cost savings, according to Evolution’s chief executive, Alex Snow. ING initiated the sales process late last year after discovering a £56 million accounting scandal in August which saw the departure of John Miller, Williams de Bröe's chief executive, and David Whistance, its chief operating officer and former finance director.