State Street Ends $3.5B Deal With BBH
The purchase, announced a year ago, involved Brown Brothers Harriman's cross-border custody, administration and related operations.
State Street says it reached an agreement with Brown Brothers Harriman to end its $3.5 billion deal to buy BBH’s investor services unit, citing expected delays in the regulatory process.
The purchase, first announced in September 2021 with an anticipated closing date of year-end 2021, involved BBH’s cross-border custody, accounting, administration and related operations in 90 markets worldwide, as well as 17 offices.
State Street, which had $35.7 trillion in assets under custody and administration as of Sept. 30, explained early Wednesday that the “transaction structure was increasingly complex, presented additional operational risk to State Street and would limit the anticipated transaction benefits relative to original expectations.”
Chairman and CEO Ron O’Hanley added that the deal’s ending “is in no way a reflection of the quality of the BBH franchise.”
With the termination of the deal, neither party is required to pay a penalty.
“It is disappointing that State Street’s inability to secure regulatory approval precluded the compelling vision that they brought to us,” said BBH Managing Partner Bill Tyree, in a statement. “BBH has no other plan to sell the Investor Services business or to pursue another transaction.”
(Photo: Michael Fein/Bloomberg)