Private equity firms GTCR and Reverence Capital are acquiring Wells Fargo Asset Management, freeing it from its bank parent Wells Fargo.
The $2.1 billion price tag for WFAM, which has $603 billion in assets, makes it one of the largest asset management deals ever and the largest private equity acquisition in the industry in 20 years. Wells Fargo, which will maintain a 9.9 percent stake and will remain a client and distributor, said it put the manager up for sale so it could focus on wealth management.
Nico Marais, the current CEO of WFAM who joined from Schroders in 2017, will stay in the role of chief executive, while Joe Sullivan, the former chairman and CEO of Legg Mason, will join as executive chairman of the board. Some executives of WFAM will have equity in the new organization for the first time.
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