Henderson Group PLC (HGI.LN) is in talks with Gartmore Group Ltd. (GRT.LN) about acquiring the company after the struggling fund manager effectively put itself up for sale last month, a person familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires on Friday.

The talks are detailed but are unlikely to result in a deal before Christmas, the person added.

Henderson has been tipped as a possible buyer for Gartmore, which saw its shares plummet following the high-profile departure of two of its star managers, most recently Roger Guy, the company's top fund manager who left the firm at the beginning of November. At the same time, Gartmore said it had hired Goldman Sachs (GS) to find a buyer for the company.

Henderson has been on the look out for acquisitions to diversify and strengthen its product offerings over the past few years. Some 18 months ago, it bought New Star Asset Management, giving it a sizeable chunk of U.K. retail funds, while earlier this year it looked at U.S. fixed-income fund manager RidgeWorth Capital Management Inc., part of SunTrust Banks Inc. (STI).

Gartmore would be an "opportunistic" buy for Henderson, the person said, complementing existing businesses and boosting exposure in emerging markets.

Gartmore shares went as high as 126 pence before closing at 105 pence, up 6%. Henderson closed unchanged at 131 pence.

-By Marietta Cauchi, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842 9241; marietta.cauchi@dowjones.com
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