Ameriprise, CI eyeing Wells Fargo asset management unit

Offers are due later this month for the division, which reportedly could fetch more than $3 billion

Ameriprise Financial Inc., CI Financial Corp. and the private equity firms GTCR and Reverence Capital Partners are weighing second-round bids for Wells Fargo & Co.’s asset management arm, according to people familiar with the matter.

The offers are due later this month, said one of the people, asking not to be identified because the matter isn’t public. Wells Fargo may whittle down the auction to one or two suitors after the next round, depending on how good the offers are, the person said. A final decision hasn’t been made and the companies could decide not to proceed with bids, the people said.

The asset management division could fetch more than $3 billion, people familiar with the matter said in October.

Representatives for Wells Fargo, GTCR and Reverence declined to comment. Representatives for Ameriprise and CI Financial didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Wells Fargo, reeling from years of scandals, is unloading several businesses as it seeks to simplify its structure. A group that includes Apollo Management Inc. and the Blackstone Group Inc. is in talks to acquire its student loan portfolio, people familiar with the matter said last week.

The bank is also selling its corporate trust arm and a private label credit cards business, Bloomberg News has reported.

Ameriprise, a Minneapolis-based wealth adviser, has more than $900 billion under management or administration, according to its website. CI Financial, based in Toronto, entered the U.S. wealth management market by acquiring interests in several registered investment advisers this year.

New York-based Reverence and Chicago-based GTCR both have experience investing in the asset management sector.

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