London, Feb 16, 2026, 09:04 GMT — Regular session
- Schroders shares were up 0.1% in early London trade, holding near 586p.
- A new takeover-code filing from Barclays and a broker cut from RBC kept attention on deal odds rather than earnings.
- Investors are watching the March 12 ex-dividend date and the next steps in the shareholder approval process.
Schroders (SDR.L) shares rose 0.09% to 586.0 pence by 0904 GMT, a small move that kept the stock pinned in the mid-580s after last week’s takeover agreement. (London South East)
That matters because Schroders is now trading like a takeover wager. The share price is less about day-to-day market swings and more about whether the Nuveen deal closes, and how long the wait for cash turns out to be.
In these situations, investors watch the “deal spread” — the gap between the traded price and the offer value — as a rough read on risk and timing. A wider spread can mean doubts about approvals or a long timetable; a tight one usually signals the market thinks the bid is likely to land.
Nuveen last week agreed to buy Schroders for £9.9 billion, offering £5.90 a share in cash and allowing shareholders to receive and keep up to 22 pence of dividends before completion. Schroders CEO Richard Oldfield said the transaction would “significantly accelerate our growth plans”, while chair Dame Elizabeth Corley called it “the right step” for shareholders, clients and staff. The companies said they expect the deal to become effective during the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, and noted irrevocable undertakings covering about 41% of the stock from the principal shareholder group trustee companies. (PR Newswire)
On Monday, a takeover-code filing added colour on how trading desks are positioned around the stock. Barclays Capital Securities, filing as an exempt principal trader, reported total interests of 1.05% and short positions of 0.99% in Schroders after dealing dated Feb. 13, including a purchase of 12.34 million shares and sales of 2.30 million at prices around £5.84-£5.88. Exempt principal traders are typically market-making desks that must disclose positions once an offer period begins. (TradingView)
A separate broker note also reinforced the idea that the upside is capped while the offer is on the table. RBC Capital Markets cut Schroders to “sector perform” from “outperform” and lifted its target price to 610p, saying the stock is already close to the implied value of the 612p-per-share bid. RBC’s scenario work put a downside case at 515p if the offer fails, while an upside case of 670p assumes a counterbid at a 10% premium, though it said it had not identified any indication a rival bid is in progress. (Investing)
Dividend timing is also back in the conversation. Schroders has declared a 15p final dividend with an ex-dividend date of March 12 and payment on April 23, according to Hargreaves Lansdown data. (Hl)
The deal has also stirred up a familiar debate in the sector: scale versus independence. Mid-sized active managers in Europe have been under pressure from cheaper passive products sold by global giants such as BlackRock and Vanguard, and consolidation has been one route out. (Reuters)
But the discount to the bid price is a reminder the outcome is not locked. Regulators can stretch the timetable, and shareholder opposition can flare up once the paperwork lands, especially in deals where the stock has already done most of the move.
Next up, traders will track further Takeover Code position filings and any sign of a competing approach. The closest calendar marker is March 12, when Schroders shares go ex-dividend for the 15p final payout, and the market will be looking for the formal timetable for the shareholder vote.
