Wilmington Trust, a provider of banking and other financial services, has completed the acquisition of AST Capital Trust, a provider of directed trustee and trust administration services offered through financial advisors.
AST Capital Trust will assume the Wilmington Trust name after a short period. This transaction adds more than $28 billion of assets under administration to Wilmington Trust, raising total assets under administration, including corporate and personal trust accounts, to nearly $114 billion.
In the retirement services business, Wilmington Trust now provides trust, custody, trading, and paying agent services for approximately $41 billion in assets in more than 3,000 retirement plans and employee benefit plans. This transaction is expected to add approximately $27 million of revenue and be non-dilutive to Wilmington Trust’s earnings in 2008.
With the closing of the acquisition, all of AST Capital Trust’s approximately 170 staff members have joined Wilmington Trust. Gregory Tschider, former president of AST Capital Trust, has been named to lead Wilmington Trust’s retirement services business.
Ted Cecala, chairman and CEO of Wilmington Trust, said: This acquisition strengthens our position in the retirement plan services business, which has been an important contributor to Wilmington Trust’s success for more than 60 years. It will also create more opportunities for growth and further strengthen our sources of revenue.