MetLife Inc. today prepared for life after the Brighthouse Financial Inc. spinoff by agreeing to acquire a firm with experience managing fixed-income investments.
MetLife said it expects to pay Fortress Investment Group L.L.C. about $250 million in cash to buy 100% of the Fortress stake in Logan Circle Partners L.P.
Steven Goulart, MetLife's chief investment officer, said in a statement about the deal that adding Logan Circle Partners should help MetLife work with more institutional investment consultants.
MetLife hopes to close on the deal by Sept. 30.
MetLife
MetLife has now received all of the regulatory approvals and other approvals it needs to make its retail life and annuity unit, Brighthouse, a separate company.
MetLife is preparing to convert Brighthouse into a stand-alone company Aug. 4, by giving investors one share of Brighthouse stock for every 11 shares of MetLife stock that they own. Brighthouse is set to begin ordinary trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market Aug. 7.
MetLife will still have large U.S. group life, retirement plan and non-retirement employee benefits operations after the spinoff. The company noted in the Logan Circle Partners announcement that it will emerge from the spinoff with about $560 billion in total assets under management, including about $140 billion in outside assets.
