Bank of Montreal agrees deal to buy UK's F&C for 708 mln stg

LONDON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Canada's Bank of Montreal (Toronto: BMO.TO - news) confirmed on Tuesday it will acquire UK fund manager F&C Asset Management (Other OTC: FCAFF - news) , operator of the world's oldest investment trust, for an agreed 708 million pounds ($1.17 billion) in cash to expand its wealth management arm.

The announcement follows a statement from F&C on Monday that it had received an offer, sending its shares up 28 percent at one point, to close at 116.4 pence.

F&C said its shareholders will be entitled to receive 120 pence in cash for each F&C share held.

The fund manager, which traces its roots back to the launch of the Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust in 1868, also updated the market, saying it had 82.1 billion pounds of assets under management at the end of 2013, down from 90.1 billion three months earlier.