SunTrust Sells Asset Management Business Line

SunTrust Banks (STI) finalized the sale of its asset management unit RidgeWorth Investments on Monday for $265 million.

RidgeWorth employees, along with outside investors from the private equity firm Lightyear Capital LLC, were the buyers in this transaction.

The $171 billion-asset SunTrust announced its intentions to sell RidgeWorth, a noncore business line based in Atlanta, in December after it was on the market for several years.

RidgeWorth manages about $50.1 billion in assets through five investment boutiques, including Ceredex Value Advisors, Certium Asset Management, Seix Investment Advisors, and Silvant Capital Management. These boutiques provide investment management services for a variety of clients, such as endowments, foundations, corporations, healthcare organizations, municipalities, public funds, associations, insurance companies, and labor unions.

"This deal optimally aligns the interests of all of our stakeholders, including clients, intermediary partners, employees and investors," said Ashi Parikh, chief executive and chief investment officer at RidgeWorth, in a press release. "As an independent investment management firm, RidgeWorth is well positioned to achieve our vision of growth and commitment to our investors."

Analysts say this transaction, along with the resolving of other numerous legal issues, epitomizes SunTrust's efforts to rid itself of distractions and focus on its core business.