Great-West Lifeco, a Canadian insurance and financial services company, has agreed to sell Putnam Investments, a global asset management firm with $126 billion in assets under management, to Franklin Templeton in a cash and stock deal. The total potential transaction consideration and retained value is estimated to be $1.7 to 1.8 billion. The acquisition will significantly enhance Franklin Templeton’s presence in the retirement sector—especially its defined contribution plan assets—and grow its mutual fund platform, giving it more scale and efficiency. Great-West will acquire 6.2% of Franklin Templeton’s common stock in the transaction.
The S&C team advising Great-West included Mark Menting, Eric Diamond and Patrick Lynch. Matthew Friestedt is advising on executive compensation matters and David Spitzer is advising on tax matters.