Administration May 15, 2007

Putnam Shareholders Give Blessing to new Great-West Management Contracts

May 15, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - More than two months after the deal announcing Great-West Lifeco Inc.'s acquisition of Putnam Investments for $3.9 billion, Putnam said its shareholders for all its funds gave their nod to the new management contracts.
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According to a press release, shareholders in all of Putnam’s 105 funds have okayed the management contracts for each fund at a meeting held Tuesday. The contracts will be effective when the transaction with Great-West concludes (See  It’s Official – Great-West Picks Up Putnam ).  

The deal   between Putnam, a Marsh & McLennan Companies subsidiary, and Great-West, a subsidiary of Power Financial Corporation, was for the same purchase price that emerged in late December reports that a deal was imminent (see  MMC Sale of Putnam Could be Good News to Shareholders ).  The transaction is expected to close by the middle of the year, and includes Putnam’s interest in PanAgora Asset Management, which will continue to operate as a separate Putnam subsidiary, according to a press release.

According to Putnam, in all but a handful of cases, votes cast for the new contracts represented more than 90% of the total shares voted.

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