Mellon Financial Corp. will establish an asset management joint venture with WestLB that will begin operations in the beginning of 2006, said Mike Dunn, Mellon spokesman. The joint venture, which hasn't been named yet, will combine WestLB's "main asset management activities" with Mellon's German asset management operations, creating an entity with about $49 billion in assets under management, of which $37 billion is now being managed for German institutional clients, according to news releases issued by each company. Mr. Dunn said the partnership will allow Mellon to distribute its mutual funds in Germany and WestLB's institutional strategies in the United States. Mellon and WestLB will each own 50% of the joint venture.
The joint venture will also oversee WestLB's asset management activities in the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, the United States, Australia and Japan. It will be the exclusive distributor of Mellon products in Germany. WestLB's French banking unit, Banque D'Orsay, will be the venture's sole distributor in France, where it will also distribute Mellon's asset management strategies; Mellon will distribute both the venture company's products and BDO's asset management products globally.
"For Mellon, this is an excellent opportunity to establish a leading presence in Germany — a strategic priority for us — and to accelerate our growth in France," Ron O'Hanley, Mellon Financial vice chairman, said in a news release.
Mellon was advised by Lazard, and WestLB was advised by Hawkpoint Partners
