The team at U.S. Bank's parent, U.S. Bancorp, is preparing to sell their 19-year-old, third-party mutual and ETF distribution shop to an acquisitive, private equity-backed rival.

Richard John Berthy Foreside Financial Group, LLC Founder, CEO

Yesterday Dave Whitaker, president of Foreside Financial Group, confirmed that the Portland, Maine-based firm has agreed to acquire Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based Quasar Distributors from U.S. Bancorp. The pricing and terms of the deal, which is expected to close in Q1 2020, were not disclosed. News of the deal follows Foreside's acquisitions earlier this year of NCS Regulatory Compliance and Compliance Advisory Services (CAS).

Teresa Cowan, president of Quasar, did not immediately return a call for comment. Spencer Hoffman, partner at Lovell Minnick Partners (which owns a majority stake in Foreside), did not immediately return a call for comment.

Foreside, founded in 2005, now has more than $1 trillion in assets under distribution. The acquisition of Quasar, founded in 2000, is expected to bring more than 200 clients to Foreside. Thanks to the deal, Foreside will have a new office in Milwaukee, Quasar's home base, and the entire 26-person Quasar team is expected to join Foreside.

"Foreside is excited for the potential this acquisition provides to broaden our wide range of compliance and regulatory service offerings to clients based all over the U.S.," Whitaker states. "Our inorganic growth continues to fuel our organic growth, as acquisitions like this one allow us to expand our service offerings and provide better strategic counsel and service to our clients."

Joe Neuberger, president of global fund services at U.S. Bank, describes the deal as a way for Quasar to "thrive while remaining true to its strengths."

"We have historically had a strong working relationship with Foreside and expect that relationship to continue into the future given the complementary nature of our businesses. We appreciate the hard work and dedication the Quasar team has shown during the years and wish them all the best as they transition to Foreside," Neuberger states. "For us, the deal furthers our efforts to focus on our core competencies and grow strategically." 

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