Under the terms of the agreement, certain clients in the US have the opportunity to switch to Columbia Threadneedle, an Ameriprise-owned business.

US-listed Ameriprise Financial has entered a definitive agreement to buy BMO Financial Group‘s European, Middle East and Africa business for £615 million (around $845 million). 

The all-cash transaction adds $124 billion of AuM in Europe and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021, subject to regulatory approvals in the relevant jurisdictions, Ameriprise said in a statement yesterday. 

Together with BMO’s EMEA asset management business, Ameriprise will have more than $1.2 trillion of assets under management and administration.

The deal runs alongside Columbia Threadneedle Investments’ core business and global growth strategy. (That business is owned by Ameriprise.) The addition of BMO’s business will increase Columbia Threadneedle’s AuM to $671 billion. 

Separately, in the US, some BMO asset management clients will have the opportunity of moving to Columbia Threadneedle, subject to client consent.

The transaction is expected to be accretive in 2023 and to generate an internal rate of return of 20 per cent.