U.S. Bancorp Unit to Buy AIS Fund Administration

U.S. Bancorp (USB) is beefing up its business that administers funds on behalf of investment managers.

The $352 billion-asset company said Tuesday that its U.S. Bancorp Fund Services unit would buy AIS Fund Administration, a provider of administration services for hedge funds. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, would add roughly $25 billion in assets to U.S. Bancorp's fund administration business and double the total of alternative investment assets the company administers.

"This acquisition is another key step in U.S. Bank's strategic growth of our securities services business," Terrance Dolan, vice chairman of U.S. Bank Wealth Management & Securities Services, said in a news release. "This enables us to expand our fund servicing capabilities and complements our focus on corporate trust services."

"We believe the addition of U.S. Bancorp's highly regarded suite of services, such as custody, trust, and other banking services, will provide significant benefits to our clients," Boris Tiomkin, chief executive of AIS, added in a news release.

A deal price was not disclosed.

AIS has roughly 176 employees who work out of offices in Hackensack, N.J., London and the Cayman Islands. It provides a series of corporate, investor and back-office services on behalf of hedge funds.

U.S. Bancorp Financial Services, which is based in Milwaukee, serves 349 families of funds that have a combined 4.1 million shareholders and $680 billion of assets under management.