GAM agreed to sell its third-party fund management services businesses in Luxembourg and Switzerland to Carne Global Fund Services, a spokesman confirmed.
GAM said on Thursday the businesses, which have 48.4 billion Swiss francs ($54 billion) in combined third-party assets, were "loss-making" and it was in the interest of shareholders to divest them.
The move is a "material step" toward fulfilling conditions of Liontrust Asset Management's offer for all of GAM's public stock announced in May, GAM said.
The GAM board unanimously recommended Liontrust's offer to shareholders. A $120 million deal, which is set to complete in the fourth quarter, will create a firm with about $65.8 billion in assets under management and advisement.
"As a loss-making business with a material regulatory capital requirement, irrespective of the Liontrust offer, we have been exploring options for the FMS Businesses for some time now. Agreeing to sell them to Carne Group marks an important strategic step for GAM and will allow clients to benefit from uninterrupted service from one of Europe's leading providers," Peter Sanderson, CEO of GAM said in a news release Thursday.
The fund services transactions are expected to close during the fourth quarter and are subject to regulatory approvals.
A Carne Group spokesman said the firm had no further comment.
