Steven Scheid, the chairman of Janus Capital Group Inc. who presided over a period of turmoil and decline at the Denver-based money manager, will retire in April as the company struggles to reverse investor withdrawals.
Glenn Schafer, 62, a director since December 2007, will replace Scheid, 58, as chairman, the company said Thursday in a statement.
Janus rose 5.4 percent to close at $7.99 in New York trading, the most since Dec. 29, after Scheid announced his departure and the company reported fourth-quarter earnings of 19 cents a share, 3 cents more than the average estimate of eight analysts in a Bloomberg survey.
Scheid’s eight-year chairmanship was marked by a clash with fund managers over the leadership of the company, the departure of at least 15 fund managers and senior executives, a drop in assets under management and a decline in Janus’ shares by more than half. He also passed on takeover attempts by larger rivals.
“I wouldn’t rule out” renewed takeover interest in Janus, Michael Kim, an analyst at Sandler O’Neil in New York, said in a telephone interview. “That’s why the stock was up 8-plus percent, but given where they are in the cycle, I’m not sure that it makes sense right now to look at partnering with a bigger firm.”
The company conducted talks with Franklin Resources Inc., the San Mateo, Calif.-based money manager, and Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance in 2009 over their possible purchase of Janus, said two people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the talks were private.
Scheid and chief executive Gary Black split over whether to accept an offer, according to a Reuters report at the time, and Black quit on July 13, 2009. Rona Gilbert, a spokeswoman for Janus, declined to comment.
Black was replaced in February 2010 by Richard Weil, an executive at Pacific Investment Management Co. in Newport Beach, Calif. Weil said during a conference call Thursday with analysts that Scheid’s departure didn’t indicate any change in direction for the firm.
“Personally, I don’t think this guy wants to come in and sell this company right away,” Daniel Fannon, an analyst in the San Francisco office of Jefferies & Co., said. “He wants the chance to turn it around.”
