Goldman Sachs said that it will buy Dutch insurer NN Group’s asset management arm for 1.7 billion euros ($1.98 billion) in the biggest acquisition by the U.S. company since David Solomon became chief executive in 2018. The deal is part of Solomon’s strategy to make the bank’s revenue stream less reliant on earnings from trading and advising on deals. The Wall Street firm wants to bulk up in areas like wealth management and expand its presence in regions outside the United States.
Solomon gave a statement that this acquisition allows them to accelerate their growth strategy and broaden their asset management platform. NNIP, or NN Investment Partners, has $335 billion in assets under management. Goldman said NNIP’s 900 employees will join GS and the Netherlands will become a significant location in its European business. Goldman is the latest major financial firm to bulk up operations in the Netherlands in the wake of Britain’s departure from the European Union.
As part of the deal, NN Group, the Netherlands’ biggest insurer, has committed to leave its $190 billion portfolio of insurance assets under NNIP management after it joins Goldman. NN CEO David Knibbe said that the combined investment expertise and scale will enhance the service offering to NN Investment Partners’ clients, including NN Group. NN said the sale of NNIP will improve its Solvency II ratio by 17 percentage points, from 209% at the end of June. Credit Suisse in a comment on the deal stated that given the company’s already strong capital position which is sufficient to fund its organic growth opportunities, and the lack of obvious M&A targets, the potential for significant excess capital returns in the coming years is apparent. It said that the price Goldman paid was slightly higher than expected. The Dutch firm’s asset management arm had also attracted interest from other insurers and asset managers.
