: Franklin Templeton buying Putnam Investments from Great-West Lifeco

Franklin Resources Inc. BEN, the parent of investment firm Franklin Templeton, on Wednesday said it would acquire Putnam Investments from Great-West Lifeco CA:GWO for about $925 million. As part of the deal, Great-West will become a long-term strategic shareholder in Franklin Resources with a 6.2% stake. Great-West will also provide an initial asset allocation of $25 billion to Franklin Templeton’s specialist investment managers. Founded in 1937, Putnam Investments currently manages about $136 billion in assets. “Putnam’s complementary capabilities and track record of strong investment performance accelerates Franklin Templeton’s growth in the retirement markets by increasing its defined contribution assets under management (AUM) and expanding its insurance assets, while adding further scale and efficiency to Franklin Templeton’s mutual fund platform,” Franklin Templeton said. Franklin Templeton stock is down about 0.1% in premarket trades.

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