British financial services group, Legal & General, through its subsidiary Legal & General Investment Management America (LGIMA), has agreed to purchase the business of Global Index Advisors (GIA), an Atlanta-based investment advisor.

Legal & General will pay $50.4m as a purchase consideration, and the transaction is expected to conclude during mid -2014, subject to approval from fund shareholders.

The acquired entity, which focuses on target date funds (TDF), will boost LGIMA proforma assets to more than $50bn, while offering Legal & General with scale and distribution in the $6trn US defined contribution (DC) market, where TDF assets are forecast to double by 2017.

Furthermore, the takeover of the US wealth manager will enable LGIM to boost its business footprint in the UK and US markets.

Legal & General Investment Management CEO Mark Zinkula said, "International expansion and the DC market are two extremely important drivers of future growth for LGIM, and the acquisition of Global Index Advisors today will allow us to accelerate our expansion in the US DC market."

Founded in 1836, Legal & General offers insurance, savings and investment management products and serves over seven million customers in the UK.