Prudential plc, the UK-based financial services group, through its subsidiary National Planning Holdings, Inc.today sold its US independent broker-dealer network, consisting of INVEST Financial Corporation, Investment Centers of America, Inc., National Planning Corporation and SII Investments, Inc., to LPL Financial LLC, the largest independent broker-dealer in the US.
The transaction is structured as an asset sale, which includes substantially all the business of the network, for an initial purchase price of US$325 million, which may increase to a maximum of approximately US$448 million subject to certain transition criteria. The transaction has closed after receiving all necessary regulatory approvals and the transition is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2018.
Barry Stowe, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Prudential plc’s North American Business Unit, said:
“While we still very much believe in the independent broker-dealer model, our primary strategy in North America is to focus on being the leading manufacturer of retirement products. The transaction with LPL Financial provides us with a compelling opportunity to divest our ownership in the NPH network to a leading independent broker-dealer well suited to support financial advisors and their retail clients going forward.”
