Conning Sells $4B Mortgage-Loan Unit to KeyCorp

NEW YORK CITY-Hartford, CT-based Conning Asset Management will sell its $4-billion-a-year mortgage loan and real estate business to financial services firm KeyCorp, the Cleveland-based parent of Key Commercial Mortgage.

KeyCorp officials say they expect Key Commercial to get a major bounce from the deal, which will enable the permanent lending division of Key Commercial Real Estate to originate and service loans on behalf of insurance companies and pension fund clients. The purchase agreement was signed May 6 and the transaction, which is structured as an asset purchase, is expected to close within 60 days. Financial terms have not been released.

According to company executive vice president and CFO Paul Kopsky, Swiss Re subsidiary Conning’s mortgage loan and real estate business represented roughly 25% of the firm’s total business in 2000, when the then-public company moved back into the private sector. Kopsky would not reveal any more recent financial data.