Nick Leeson brought Barings to the edge of collapse
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Dutch bank ING, which paid £1 for Baring, the British investment bank brought to the brink by Nick Leeson, is to sell its remaining Baring division.
On Monday, ING agreed to sell Baring Asset Management's investment management business to US-based MassMutual Financial.
It also agreed to sell Baring Asset Management's financial services group to Chicago-based Northern Trust.
ING will gain 250m euros($325.6m, £175.8m) from the transaction.
End of an era
It acquired the Baring business from near bankruptcy in 1995 for £1 plus a capital investment of £835m to counter the effects of over £800m in trading losses run up by rogue trader Nick Leeson.
All of Baring Asset Management's employees will transfer to the buyers, with 600 transferring to MassMutual and 770 to Northern Trust.
ING said the deal was part of its strategy to focus on its core businesses. It will also reduce its debt.
The Baring activities to be purchased by Northern Trust include 51bn euros in funds under administration, 23bn in custody, and 26bn held in trust.
The operations to be bought by MassMutual include 26bn euros in funds under management.
MassMutual is also buying the rights to use the Baring Asset Management name. This will be the end of an era for ING, which will no longer use the Baring name.
However, ING still has an association with the once blue-blooded British investment bank it rescued from the brink of bankruptcy.
ING absorbed Baring's banking operations into its own, following the Nick Leeson debacle.
The sale of Baring Asset Management is due to be completed before the end of the first quarter of 2005.
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