Ameriprise Financial announced this morning that it plans to acquire the Europe, Middle East and Africa asset management business of BMO Financial Group for about $845 million.
The deal, which furthers Ameriprise’s focus on growing its fee-based businesses, will add about $124 billion of assets under management in Europe to Ameriprise’s operations, which will have more than $1.2 trillion of assets under management after the deal.
The all-cash transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
The acquisition also creates a strategic relationship with BMO Wealth Management so that its North American clients can access Amerprise’s Columbia Threadneedle investment management solutions. Some BMO asset management clients could also move to Columbia Threadneedle in the U.S., the company said.
“This strategic acquisition represents an important next step as we expand our solutions capabilities, broaden our client offering and deepen our talented team,” Jim Cracchiolo, Ameriprise’s CEO, said in a statement. “We are a disciplined acquirer and believe this transaction will build on our track record of successful acquisitions for the benefit of clients and our other stakeholders.”
Amerirprise said the transaction is expected to be accretive in 2023 and to generate an internal rate of return of 20%.
It will not impact the company’s plan for capital return, the company added.
Kavita Kumar • 612-673-4113 Twitter: @kavitakumar