Aberdeen Buying Widows Fortifies Edinburgh Before Scotland Votes

Aberdeen Asset Management Plc’s purchase of Scottish Widows Investment Partnership helps cement Edinburgh’s position as a financial center as politicians spar over whether Scotland should gain independence.

The 560 million-pound ($902 million) acquisition of Lloyds Banking Group Plc’s fund management business will make Aberdeen the largest publicly traded fund manager in Europe by assets, overseeing about 336 billion pounds. More than half of that will be managed in Edinburgh, Aberdeen Chief Executive Officer Martin Gilbert said yesterday.