State Street to Acquire GE’s Asset Management Business

Ropes & Gray represented State Street Corporation in its proposed acquisition of GE Asset Management (GEAM), a leading asset manager, from GE.

State Street is the world’s leading provider of financial services to institutional investors including investment servicing, investment management and investment research and trading, with $28 trillion in assets under custody and administration, and $2 trillion in assets under management as of Dec. 31, 2015. 

GEAM has more than $100 billion in assets under management for more than 100 institutional clients, including corporate and public retirement plan sponsors, foundations, endowments, sovereign wealth funds and insurance companies. GEAM and its predecessor organizations have been managing investments for GE’s U.S. pension and other benefit plans for over 80 years.

Subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, the transaction, announced March 30, is expected to be finalized early in the third quarter of 2016.

The Ropes & Gray team included investment management partners Timothy Diggins and Brian McCabe; executive compensation & employee benefits partner Jonathan Zorn; tax partner Christopher Leich; private equity associate Christian Westra.