Affiliated Managers Group Inc. is buying River Road Asset Management LLC from Aviva Investors.

Louisville, Ky.-based River Road manages U.S. equities and has about $11 billion in assets. The company will continue to manage Aviva's U.S. equity income funds.

Affiliated Managers, headquartered in Boston, is a global asset management company that makes investments in boutique investment management firms.

Chicago-based Aviva is selling the company as part of a plan to focus its business. Aviva Investors is the asset management business of insurance company Aviva plc.

"Aviva Investors is focused on becoming a fully-integrated asset manager offering products that deliver client outcomes with low volatility. A boutique U.S. equity manager does not fit with this strategy," says Jason Windsor, group chief strategy and development officer at Aviva.

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP provided legal advice to River Road on the deal.

Other recent asset management deals include asset manager Hunt Companies Inc.'s purchase of Centerline Holding Co., which gave the buyer a national mortgage-banking service, and NewSpring Holdings LLC's acquisition of Wealthcare Capital Management Inc.