Pilgrim Baxter sale talks fail

Negotiations for the sale of Pilgrim Baxter & Associates to Nationwide Financial Services have ended, according to United Asset Management Corp., Pilgrim Baxter's owner, and Nationwide. United Asset Management (UAM) and Nationwide could not agree on the terms of the sale. According to published reports, Nationwide would have paid roughly $600 million for Pilgrim Baxter, a mutual fund company based in Wayne, Pa. Officials either declined comment or declined to provide details on why the sale talks failed.

UAM also declined to comment on whether Pilgrim Baxter remained for sale. UAM, a holding company based in Boston comprised primarily of institutional money management firms, remains committed to mutual funds, said Jonathan V. Hubbard, a spokesman for the company.