Philly firm says sale lets it focus on core insurance and retirement ops. With a view to streamlining its operations, Lincoln Financial is selling its asset-management division Delaware Investments to Australian financial-service company Macquarie Group for about $428 million.

Lincoln paid about $510 million for Delaware Investments in 1994. Still tied

"We believe the greatest opportunities for growth and differentiation for Lincoln Financial going forward are centered on our principal insurance and retirement businesses," Lincoln's president and CEO Dennis Glass says in a press release. "This transaction will allow us to focus both management and capital resources on these core businesses."

Assuming the deal passes regulatory muster, Lincoln sees the transaction closing by the end of 2009.

Delaware will continue to manage Lincoln's general-account insurance assets -- it has a long-term contract to do so -- and the money manager will continue to figure in Linclon's subadvisory programs. It also seems likely that the part of Lincoln's wholesale arm Lincoln Financial Distributors that is focused on selling its managed accounts and mutual funds will join Delaware and become part of Macquarie.

Philadelphia-based Lincoln Financial had assets under management of $181 billion on 30 June 2009 -- about $120 billion of them managed by Delaware Investments. At the end of June 2008, Delaware Investments managed $135 billion.

Sydney-based Macquarie managed around $200 billion at the end of March this year. -FWR

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