ING Closes Acquisition of CitiStreet; Solidifies Leadership Position in
Defined Contribution Retirement Plan Market
WINDSOR, Conn., July 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ING Group (NYSE: ING)
announced that it has received final regulatory approvals and today completed
its acquisition of CitiStreet LLC, one of the premier retirement plan and
benefit service and administration organizations in the US, which includes
CitiStreet's Australian operations. The transaction closed quickly, in
approximately 60 days from signing, reflecting the complementary nature of the
two organizations and the seamlessness of the transition.
Tom McInerney, ING Executive Board member and CEO for ING Insurance
Americas said, "We are thrilled to reach this significant milestone, and
officially welcome CitiStreet employees, clients, and other business partners
to ING. This acquisition is another demonstration of ING's focused strategy to
support the organic growth of the Group with strategic, bolt-on acquisitions
aligned with its core banking, investments, life insurance, and retirement
services growth businesses."
ING's US Wealth Management business has a leadership position in a wide
range of businesses, including defined contribution retirement plans, defined
benefit pension plans, fixed and variable annuities, retirement income
solutions, managed accounts, financial planning, retirement plan rollovers,
stable value programs, as well as a health and welfare operation.
In aggregate, the combined ING US Wealth Management and CitiStreet
businesses, which includes CitiStreet's Australian operations, has more than
US $408 billion in combined AUM and AUA and more than 16 million customers (as
of March 31, 2008).
Kathleen Murphy, CEO, ING US Wealth Management said, "We have all the
characteristics of an undisputed market leader -- scale in our market
segments, an outstanding technology platform, innovative products, strong
distribution relationships, and a powerful global brand. In addition, what
truly differentiates ING and will allow us to further grow the business is our
committed focus on our customers, and helping them successfully prepare for
their retirement. ING is one of the few retirement services companies that has
a scaled leadership presence in the small-, mid- and large-corporate,
education, and government and health care markets, which allows us to design
and implement retirement and benefit solutions for any plan sponsor we
encounter."
Sandy McCarthy, previously president, CitiStreet, and now president,
Institutional Plan Services, ING US Wealth Management said, "The integration
of our customer-centric organization has been seamless, orderly, and has
revealed the true potential of the combined organizations to meet the
retirement and other benefit needs of plan sponsors and plan participants. We
have generated significant momentum and enthusiasm, and are ready to address
the marketplace with a value proposition that spans the full spectrum of the
plan sponsor marketplace."
According to the most recent third-party data(1), ING is now the third
largest defined contribution business in the US based on combined assets under
management (AUM) and assets under administration (AUA) with more than US $300
billion; the second largest based on number of plan participants with
approximately 9.8 million; and the largest based on number of plans with
approximately 60,000.
Murphy added, "The converging defined contribution and benefits
environment requires that we keep pace with the evolving needs of Americans,
particularly in light of how important the defined contribution retirement
plan is for long-term retirement security. As a Wealth Management
organization, ING has the capability to help its customers accumulate assets,
and then create a stream of income that will last throughout their retirement
years."
Under the terms of the agreement, ING acquired 100 percent of CitiStreet
for a total consideration of approximately US $900 million. The acquisition
was financed entirely from existing internal resources and will be booked in
the third quarter.
Press enquiries:
Pilar Teixeira Dana Ripley
ING Group ING Insurance Americas
+31 20 541 5469 +1 770.980.4865
pilar.teixeira@ing.com +1 404.788.9624
dana.ripley@us.ing.com
Certain of the statements contained herein are statements of future
expectations and other forward-looking statements. These expectations are
based on management's current views and assumptions and involve known and
unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results, performance or events may
differ materially from those in such statements due to, among other things,
(i) general economic conditions, in particular economic conditions in ING's
core markets, (ii) performance of financial markets, including emerging
markets, (iii) the frequency and severity of insured loss events, (iv)
mortality and morbidity levels and trends, (v) persistency levels, (vi)
interest rate levels, (vii) currency exchange rates (viii) general competitive
factors, (ix) changes in laws and regulations, (x) changes in the policies of
governments and/or regulatory authorities, (xi) conclusions with regard
purchase accounting assumptions and methodologies, (xii) ING's ability to
achieve projected operational synergies. ING assumes no obligation to update
any forward-looking information contained in this document.
ING Profile
ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking,
insurance and asset management to over 85 million private, corporate and
institutional clients in more than 50 countries. With a diverse workforce of
about 130,000 people, ING comprises a broad spectrum of prominent companies
that increasingly serve their clients under the ING brand.
In the Americas, ING Insurance employs 40,000 people and serves over 44
million customers in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Peru,
Argentina, Uruguay and Colombia, where ING offers a range of wealth
accumulation and asset management products and participates in the pension,
life, annuity, health, auto and property & casualty insurance businesses.
(1) From 2008 PLAN SPONSOR record keepers survey data
SOURCE ING Group
Pilar Teixeira of ING Group, +31 20 541 5469, pilar.teixeira@ing.com; or Dana
Ripley of ING Insurance Americas, +1-770-980-4865 or +1-404-788-9624,
dana.ripley@us.ing.com
