Sun Life shares hit their lowest price of the year last month, dragged down by reaction to the company's quarterly financial report and news its president was quitting. Then the stock turned quickly, climbing from $37.35 to nearly $41 in a few weeks, one explanation being that the company was about to make a deal involving MFS, a business it has owned for 24 years.
"The intense speculation on the subject, as well as our observation that management has gone completely silent, leads us to believe that something could be in the works," analyst Mario Mendonca of
A spokeswoman called MFS a "strategic asset," but added the company didn't rule out "anything that builds greater shareholder value for the future."
MFS manages $168 billion in mutual funds and institutional accounts and will probably make more than $200 million this year and earn an operating profit of more than 25 cents for every dollar of revenue. The numbers are below average for the mutual fund industry.
The staff of Money Management Executive ("MME") has prepared these capsule summaries based on reports published by the news sources to which they are attributed. Those news sources are not associated with MME, and have not prepared, sponsored, endorsed, or approved these summaries.
