Aberdeen discussions confidential negotiations for the sale of financial advice platform Finimize

Aberdeen, the investment management group formed in 2017 from the merger of Aberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life, is in exclusive talks to sell Finimize, an investment insights platform. The sale would be another step in CEO Jason Windsor's reshaping of Aberdeen, who replaced Steven Bird last year.

According to reports, Finimize had more than one million subscribers to its newsletter at the time of Aberdeen's purchase. The platform charges an annual subscription fee for investment tips. The identity of the potential buyer remains unclear, but City sources have mentioned Brave Bison, a London-listed marketing group, as a party that had previously held talks with Aberdeen about a deal for Finimize.

The talks with the buyer have been ongoing for at least a month, and the sale could mark another significant move for Aberdeen. The group currently has a market capitalization of £3.6bn, and its shares closed at 194.7p on Friday.

Investors were left underwhelmed by the merger of Aberdeen, which originally valued the enlarged company at about £11bn. However, the sale of Finimize could signal a new direction for the company. No official comment has been made by Aberdeen regarding the sale, and the identity of the buyer has not been publicly revealed.

Aberdeen shares have increased by 30% during the last year, and the sale of Finimize could provide the company with the funds to invest in other areas of its business. No new information about the ongoing talks or the current market capitalization of Aberdeen was provided in this paragraph. The information about the sale of Finimize does not appear to be related to the other bullet points provided.