Sunlife Financial sells stake in CI Financial

The Sun Life Financial Inc. has sold of its 37-percent interest in CI Financial Income Fund for $2.3 billion to Scotiabank in an all-cash, private transaction.

Sun Life Financial chief executive officer Donald A. Stewart said that Sun Life has taken advantage of unprecedented opportunities existing within the global financial services sector.

“Unlocking CI’s value now provides Sun Life with enhanced firepower to aggressively pursue our growth objectives,” Stewart added.

Rick Waugh, Scotiabank President and CEO, said, “Sun Life is the leading distributor of CI mutual funds and the manufacturer of the highly successful SunWise Elite Plus line of segregated funds. We look forward to building a relationship with them.”

CI Financial Income Fund chief executive officer Bill Holland explained that their partnership with Sun Life was successful in delivering tremendous growth for both Sun Life and CI.

Holland said that Scotiabank is a welcome partner that opens new opportunities for growth.

Sun Life Financial continues to have a leading scale with over $400 billion of assets under management (AUM) as at June 2008. It remains committed to pursuing its growth strategy in asset management.     — TAB