Short Takes: Prime Advisors to Sell Stakes to Mellon, NAC

Mellon Bank Corp. and NAC Re Corp. agreed to each buy a significant interest in Prime Advisors Inc., a Kirkland, Wash.-based company that develops proprietary investments for property-casualty insurers.

Terms of the deal, which was announced Thursday, were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to completion of a definitive agreement and regulatory approval.

Pittsburgh-based Mellon said its insurance team would work closely with Prime's employees to provide services to the insurance industry. The companies plan to exchange key staff and products.

"With the increasing trend toward outsourcing investment functions by insurers seeking superior performance, this relationship is consistent with our strategy of partnering selectively with high-quality firms," said Donald P. O'Hanley, chief operating officer of Dreyfus' institutional investors group, in a statement. Dreyfus Corp. is a mutual fund subsidiary of Mellon.

Greenwich, Conn.-based NAC Re, parent of NAC Reinsurance Corp., said it would retain Prime to manage a segment of its invested assets.

Prime, which has $2 billion of assets under management, said its current management will continue to maintain an ownership interest in the company. Duane Castles will remain its chairman and chief executive officer.

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