(Bloomberg) -- GAM Holding AG is once more exploring a potential sale after the Swiss fund manager’s previous attempts to find a buyer stalled, according to people familiar with the matter. 

The firm is working with advisers as it gauges interest from potential suitors, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. Deliberations are ongoing and there’s no certainty they’ll result in a deal, the people said. GAM managed assets of about 83 billion Swiss francs ($86 billion) at the end of June. 

A representative for GAM declined to comment. 

GAM held informal talks with potential buyers in 2018, but discussions petered out when the firm was forced to tackle outflows sparked by the suspension of former fund manager Tim Haywood. Discussions were revived the following year and while GAM held talks with suitors including Italian insurer Assicurazioni Generali SpA, nothing materialized. 

Under Chief Executive Officer Peter Sanderson, GAM has been working to recover from the fallout of the departure of Haywood, once one of its top bond managers in London, and the liquidation of his flagship funds. It’s also had to deal with reputational damage caused by links to collapsed supply chain finance firm Greensill Capital.

Shares in GAM have fallen more than 50% in Zurich over the past year, giving it a market value of 150 million Swiss francs. Earlier this month, it said it’s shutting down multiple funds, putting at risk the jobs of at least six money managers in a revamp of its fixed-income trading strategies.

About $640 billion worth of deals targeting financial services companies have been struck in 2022, data compiled by Bloomberg show. That’s up almost 8% year-on-year, making the sector a bright spot in an otherwise darkening environment for mergers and acquisitions globally. 

(Updates with deal volumes in final paragraph.)

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