State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) and Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (BBH) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for State Street to acquire BBH’s Investor Services business, including its custody, accounting, fund administration, global markets and technology services, for $3.5 billion in cash.
Following the transaction, BBH will continue to independently own and operate its separate Private Banking and Investment Management businesses. The parties are targeting year-end 2021 to complete the acquisition, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
BBH Investor Services is a global asset servicer with a track record of exceptional client service and deep expertise in cross-border, alternatives, ETFs, and other high-growth asset classes. As of June 30, 2021, BBH Investor Services had $5.4 trillion in Assets Under Custody (AUC), adding to State Street’s $31.9 trillion in AUC.
The acquisition is expected to advance State Street’s strategy as an enterprise outsource solutions provider, strengthening competitive positioning, expanding geographic coverage and enhancing client experience.
“We made this decision after careful consideration of the current and future landscape of the global securities servicing industry, including how best to support and innovate for the growing breadth and complexity of our clients’ servicing requirements,” said Bill Tyree, managing partner of BBH. “State Street is the ideal partner – a firm that shares our core values of unmatched client service, integrity, trust, and a long-term commitment to sustainability.”
Upon closing of the transaction, BBH Investor Services employees will move to State Street. The senior management team will transition to State Street in executive leadership roles, and Seán Páircéir, currently partner and Global Head of Investor Services at BBH, will join State Street’s Management Committee.
Post close, the transaction provides the potential for significant benefits for State Street shareholders from estimated fully-phased in expense synergies of $260 million in year 3 as a result of efficiencies in operational systems and infrastructure, as well as overhead consolidation.
Additionally, State Street has identified an estimated $35 million of EBIT from known balance sheet actions and $40 million of EBIT from estimated net revenue synergies in Investment Servicing and Global Markets in year 3.
State Street expects the transaction will be primarily financed through the issuance of common equity, the suspension of common share repurchases before resuming during 2Q22, and cash on hand. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to earnings per share in year 1.