(Bloomberg) — Principal Financial Group Inc., the seller of life insurance and retirement products, agreed to increase its stake in Columbus Circle Investors to 95 percent from 70 percent as it expands a bet on asset management.
The insurer’s 2005 investment in the equity-management firm “has greatly exceeded our mid-teens return threshold expectations,” Jim McCaughan, chief executive officer of the Principal Global Investors unit, said today in a statement. “We’re pleased to be able to increase our ownership stake.”