Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE: AMP) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with BMO Financial Group (BMO) to acquire its EMEA asset management business for £615 million, or approximately $845 million. The all-cash transaction adds $124 billion of AUM in Europe and is currently expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021, subject to regulatory approvals in the relevant jurisdictions.

The acquisition will further accelerate Ameriprise’s core strategy of growing its fee-based businesses and increase the overall contribution of Wealth Management and Asset Management within its diversified business. Together with BMO’s EMEA asset management business, Ameriprise will have more than $1.2 trillion of assets under management and administration.

The acquisition complements Columbia Threadneedle Investments’ core business and global growth strategy, adding a substantial presence in the European institutional market and considerably expanding its investment capabilities and solutions to meet growing client demand. The addition of BMO’s EMEA asset management business will increase Columbia Threadneedle’s AUM to $671 billion. It will significantly increase EMEA AUM and expand AUM in the region to 40% of total Columbia Threadneedle AUM.

In addition, the acquisition establishes a strategic relationship with BMO Wealth Management giving its North American Wealth Management clients opportunities to access a range of Columbia Threadneedle investment management solutions. Separately, in the U.S., the transaction also includes the opportunity for certain BMO asset management clients to move 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%. Given the firm’s substantial excess capital position and free cash flow generation, the company’s capital return strategy remains on track.