IOOF Holdings, a Melbourne-based financial services company, will buy Australia and New Zealand Banking Group's OnePath pensions and investments business for A$975 million ($769 million), the two companies announced Tuesday.
The deal, which would bring over 717 financial advisers to IOOF with roughly A$20 billion of assets under advisement, an open architecture investment platform with A$46.6 billion in funds under administration and an in-house multiasset management investment team with A$23.7 billion in assets under management.
In a presentation on the deal Tuesday, IOOF said ANZ's dealer workforce and assets under advisement will put space between it and rivals challenging IOOF for the No. 2 spot behind AMP's A$103.1 billion in assets under advisement. IOOF said pro-forma combined assets under advisement, at A$76.6 billion, would be closer to three-quarters of AMP's total, as opposed to just more than half now.
Meanwhile, ANZ's platform assets under administration, almost A$10 billion more than IOOF's platform assets of A$37.2 billion, would lift the combined firm's total to A$83.8 billion for fifth place in the industry rankings, up from eighth for IOOF at present.
IOOF's assets under management of A$20.6 billion at present would more than double to A$44.3 billion with the infusion from ANZ.
The deal, which is expected to close within 12 months, also includes a 20% strategic alliance under which ANZ will distribute IOOF wealth products to the bank's 5.6 million retail customers and 500,000 corporate and business customers.
