Standard Life buys fund firm Ignis for 390 mln pounds

LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) - British insurer Standard Life (LSE: SL.L - news) on Wednesday announced the acquisition of Ignis Asset Management from Phoenix Holdings (Tel Aviv: PHOE1.TA - news) for 390 million pounds ($643.71 million).

Standard said the deal, which would be funded in cash from existing internal resources, would result in an enhanced earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin of 45 percent by 2017.

The deal would also result in cost savings exceeding 50 million pounds by the third full year of ownership.

"The acquisition of Ignis will complement Standard Life Investments' strong organic growth and strengthen its strategic positioning," Standard said in a statement.

"It will deepen its investment capabilities, broaden Standard Life Investments' third party client base and reinforce its foundation for building a business in the rapidly developing liability aware market."

($1 = 0.6059 British Pounds) (Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Francesco Canepa)