Done deal: ING to sell three broker-dealers to Lightyear Capital

Just days after announcing a restructuring of its franchise, ING has agreed to sell most of its broker-dealer operations to private equity firm Lightyear Capital.

Just days after announcing a restructuring of its franchise, ING has agreed to sell most of its broker-dealer operations to private equity firm Lightyear Capital.
ING will sell three of its broker-dealers in its ING Advisors Network Inc. — Financial Network Investment Corp., Multi-Financial Securities Corp. and Primevest Financial Services Inc. — to Lightyear for an undisclosed amount. These three broker-dealers have a combined 5,000 advisers.
Last week, InvestmentNews reported that Lightyear was the leading suitor for the three ING B-Ds, which have been under strategic review since the spring.
ING will keep two other broker-dealers, ING Financial Advisers and ING Financial Partners, Inc.
“This transaction simplifies ING’s structure in the U.S., and allows us to focus resources and capital on our core Retirement Services, Life Insurance, and Rollover Annuity businesses,” said Tom McInerney, member of the Management Board Insurance of ING Group, in a statement. “It is also in the best interest of the broker-dealers, their employees, and the affiliated representatives and financial institutions, to find a new ownership structure.”