Madison Dearborn Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, has bought the collective investment trust business of Wilmington Trust, a wealth management and corporate and institutional services company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of M&T Bank Corp.
The CIT business, part of Wilmington Trust’s institutional client services division, is a provider of third-party trustee and administrative services to asset managers and the employer-sponsored retirement market. The business currently manages approximately $115 billion in CIT assets for more than 550 funds across a family of approximately 45 subadvisors, including AllianceBernstein, BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, MetLife, Neuberger Berman and Raymond James. With this deal, the CIT business will become an independent company with a new brand name owned by funds affiliated with MDP.
“MDP has extensive experience in financial services and will add significant value to our newly formed company,” states Rob Barnett, executive vice president at Wilmington Trust, who will serve as the independent company’s CEO. “We are excited about this next chapter and will continue to offer our strong customer-centric services to the retirement market with the substantial resources and expertise the MDP team will bring to bear.”
Raymond James is acting as financial advisor to M&T Bank, and Debevoise & Plimpton is serving as its legal counsel. UBS Investment Bank and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC are acting as financial advisors to MDP, and Latham & Watkins LLP and Eversheds Sutherland LLP are providing legal counsel.