LONDON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - British money manager

Aberdeen said on Friday it would acquire the management

of nine U.S.-based closed-end funds with assets totalling 1.5

billion pounds ($2 billion), part of an ongoing drive to expand

in the U.S. market.

Aberdeen will buy the funds from Boston-based investment

manager MFS and merge them into two larger funds together with

one existing Aberdeen fund, which will then invest in areas

including bonds and the hot private credit market.

The deal marks Aberdeen's tenth acquisition of U.S.

closed-end funds since 2000, and the firm said it was

well-placed to further consolidate the sector to build bigger

funds that deliver greater economies of scale.

The company's shares were up 0.7% after the announcement.

Aberdeen CEO Jason Windsor said in a statement that the company

would continue to invest in areas where it saw significant room

for growth.

No staff will transfer as part of the deal and no

acquisition value was stated.

($1 = 0.7467 pounds)