Affiliated Managers Group Inc. (AMG) is exiting its minority ownership in Clarfeld Financial Advisors LLC, and selling out to Citizens Bank, a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group Inc.

Jonathan Freedman, a spokesperson for AMG, would not confirm the terms of the deal, but spoke highly of his company’s five-year business relationship with Clarfeld.

“We and Clarfeld mutually agreed that it would be in the firm’s best interest to be acquired by Citizens, which has an embedded base of high-net-worth clients which may drive Clarfeld’s growth,” Freedman said.

Clarfeld is a Tarrytown, N.Y., wealth management firm and multifamily office with approximately $6.6 billion in assets under management (AUM) and $900 million of assets under administration (AUA). It advises high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients across the northeast.

AMG, based in Beverly, Mass., acquired a minority stake in Clarfeld in 2013 through its Palm Beach, Fla., subsidiary, AMG Wealth Partners LP. However, according to Citizens spokesperson Megan M. Griffin, AMG will be selling its interest in Clarfeld, which Citizens is acquiring in its entirety.

Citizens Financial Group is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, reporting $158.6 billion in assets as of September 30, 2018.

As of that date, Citizens Bank Wealth Management had approximately $7.9 billion in AUM and a total AUM/AUA of $26.5 billion, including $3.5 billion in AUM and $3.7 billion in AUA within the Citizens Bank Private Wealth Management platform.

Combined, Citizens Bank Wealth Management and Clarfeld would oversee approximately $14.4 billion of AUM and $34.1 billion of AUM/AUA.

The deal enables Clarfeld to continue operating under its current brand name, while Citizens Bank Private Wealth Management, which has total AUM/AUA of $26.5 billion, will be integrated into Clarfeld.

Robert Clarfeld, the firm's founder and chief executive officer, will be named CEO of the combined high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth businesses.

“I am excited about leading the build-out of our combined private wealth platform,” Clarfeld said.

John Bahnken, president and chief executive officer of Citizens Bank Wealth Management, praised Clarfeld, his strong leadership and highly skilled team of wealth management professionals.

Bahnken said the acquisition provided a unique opportunity to accelerate Citizens’ strategy of building a highly competitive wealth management business that is well-positioned to offer a comprehensive range of services to existing and future clients.

“We have a significant opportunity to serve the most complex needs of our clients while we continue to focus on expanding our business,” Bahnken said.

Citizens offers a full complement of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. It operates branches in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Between 1988 and its 2014 initial public offering, Citizens was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS). RBS sold its last 20.9 percent stake in the company in October 2015.

Citizens has ranked within the top 25 on several lists of the largest banks in the United States, according to the size of its assets.

Silver Lane Advisors, a New York City-based premier investment bank specializing in the financial services industry, was the exclusive financial advisor to Providence, R.I.-based Citizens in its acquisition of Clarfeld.

The transaction is expected to close late this year or early next year, subject to customary closing terms and conditions and regulatory approval.