Sep. 30--Bank of America Corp. today said it has signed an agreement to sell the long-term asset management business of its Columbia Management unit to Ameriprise Financial Inc. for about $1 billion, subject to certain adjustments.

The Charlotte bank said in May that it was shopping Columbia as it looked to raise capital. Bank of America gained a 50 percent stake in money manager BlackRock Inc. when it bought Merrill Lynch & Co. on Jan. 1.

"The acquisition of Merrill Lynch provided an opportunity to look at our entire portfolio of businesses with an eye toward strengthening our capital position while ensuring that we continue to offer the broadest possible solutions to our customers and clients as one of the world's leading financial services firms," said Joe Price, Bank of America's chief financial officer, in a statement. "We're pleased to reach an agreement with Ameriprise that is consistent with that goal."

On June 30, the business being sold had about $165 billion in stock and bonds assets under management. The bank will be paid between $900 million and $1.2 billion based on assets that remain with the firm and other conditions.

Analysts had been expecting the bank to make more on the sale of the entire unit. Bank of America said it continues to consider options for its short-term cash investments managed by Columbia.

The transaction is expected to close in the spring of 2010, subject to regulatory approvals.

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