Macquarie Group will acquire ING Investment Management Korea, ING's South Korean money management business, according to news releases on Macquarie's and ING's websites.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Terms were not disclosed, said Victorina de Boer, ING spokeswoman.
The ING business managed 25 trillion won ($22 billion) as of March 31, mainly for local institutional clients, including ING Life Korea.
The transaction is the latest move by ING to divest its investment management and insurance operations as part of an agreement between ING and the Dutch government for an infusion of €10 billion ($12.8 billion) to the financial services firm in 2008. Under an amended agreement with the Dutch government in November, 50% of ING Investment Management's operations in Asia must be sold by the end of 2013, and the remainder must be sold by the end of 2016.
ING Life Korea has not yet been sold.
In October, ING announced an agreement to sell its 33% stake in China Merchants Fund, which has about a 3% share of China's mutual fund market, to joint venture partners China Merchants Bank and China Merchants Securities for €98 million. In November, ING announced the sale of its investment management business in Thailand to Singapore-based UOB Asset Management for €10 million, and in December ING said it would sell a 70% stake in Malaysian-based ING Funds to local competitor Kenanga Investors. The selling price was not disclosed.
ING's U.S. retirement, investment and insurance business, to be renamed Voya Financial, raised $1.3 billion in a May 2 IPO.
