MBNA Corp. said Thursday that it has agreed to acquire the $450 million consumer credit card portfolio of Fidelity Trust Co., a Salt Lake City subsidiary of Fidelity Investments.
Terms of the sale were not disclosed. The deal is expected to be completed this month and the accounts transferred in October.
Wilmington, Del.-based MBNA will be the card issuer and servicer for the existing portfolio of 300,000 accounts and will be soliciting new business from Fidelity's retail account base for the next five years.
The cards will continue to bear Fidelity's name and logo and will be sponsored by the investment firm.
MBNA, the second-largest MasterCard and Visa issuer, specializes in affinity-group marketing and has recently not been buying sizable portfolios, said Robert K. Hammer, chairman and chief executive officer of R.K. Hammer Investment Bankers, Thousand Oaks, Calif.
"It is nice to see MBNA back in the hunt," Mr. Hammer said.
MBNA said it is intent on a seamless transition leading to long-term relationships with Fidelity and its customers.
MBNA will market its Platinum Plus products to most of the Fidelity base, said an MBNA spokesman.
Fidelity has been marketing credit cards since 1990 and anyone-not just mutual fund customers-could apply.
Paul Hondros, president of Fidelity Investments' retail group, said its card business is attractive and well managed "but now is the right time to realize the value of our investment."
Fidelity Trust Co. will retain the debit card and bill-paying businesses.
