The value of mergers and acquisitions during the third quarter in the global asset management business rose from a year earlier as banks continued to shed their fund units, according to a report.
The sector's disclosed deal value in the quarter rose 7.1%, to $4.5 billion, from a year earlier, according to the report Jefferies Group Inc. released Wednesday.
More than two-thirds of the global asset management M&A activity came from financial services firms' selling subsidiaries — a record share for a single quarter, according to the report.
The quarter's biggest deal was Bank of America Corp.'s sale of most of Columbia Management to Ameriprise Financial Inc. for about $1 billion.
In June, BlackRock Inc. said it had agreed to buy Barclays Global Investors, a unit of Barclays PLC, for $13.5 billion. The in a deal is expected to close by the end of the first quarter.
Morgan Stanley reportedly has put its Van Kampen fund unit on the block. The investment manager Invesco Ltd. is seen as the front-runner to buy Van Kampen. Also, B of A said it is still looking for a buyer for Columbia's money market funds.
