ING has closed the sale of three of its broker-dealer units, which collectively made up three-quarters of its ING Advisors Network business, to the US-based private equity firm Lightyear Capital for an undisclosed amount.  

The Dutch financial services group is selling Financial Network Investment Corporation, based in El Segundo, California; Multi-Financial Securities Corporation, based in Denver, Colorado; and PrimeVest Financial Services, based in St Cloud, Minnesota. The sale also includes ING Brokers Network, the holding company and back-office shared services supporting these broker-dealers. 

Collectively these businesses, along with ING Financial Partners, based in Des Moines, Iowa, operated as ING Advisors Network. ING will retain ING Financial Partners as well as its other US broker-dealer ING Financial Advisors, based in Windsor, Connecticut.

The firm said these two businesses were closely affiliated and remained a key part of its US strategy.

Last year ING announced its intention to divest its US advisory network along with a number of other businesses as part of moves to bolster its capital, and to comply with European Union rules governing state aid; the firm has received substantial injections of public funds.

Other announced or completed divestments include the acquisition of ING’s Asian and Swiss private banking businesses by Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation and Julius Baer respectively, as well as the sale of ING's Australian and New Zealand insurance businesses.