Loring Ward Inter-national Ltd., spun off from Assante Corp. more than three years ago, has sold its two remaining business-management practices to senior managers and former owners for a total of US$26.5 million.

It’s part of an overall strategy that will see Loring Ward, now based in New York, focus on providing personalized investment and back-office services to more than 500 high-producing advisors in the U.S.

The company will receive $17 million in cash as well as $5.5 million raised from the planned sale of almost 600,000 common shares held in escrow for the Century City, Calif., business-management practice. Another operation in Encino, Calif., will bring in another $4 million. Both sales are subject to shareholder approval and closing conditions, and will be dealt with at a special meeting of shareholders on Dec. 15 in Toronto.

The divestitures represent the final dismantling of the company’s advisory business for professional athletes and movie and television stars. Last year, it sold off its Moorad Sports Management business, which represented professional baseball and football players, and its Maximum Sports Management Inc. arm, which specialized on the football side. Another sports business management unit was divested in August to Barry Klarberg, a senior manager and former owner of the business prior to its acquisition by Loring Ward, for $5.15 million.

“This confirms our commitment to the company’s core business segment in asset management and advisor services through which we offer Loring Ward Services and its turnkey asset management program,” says Robert Herrmann, CEO of Loring Ward.

Loring Ward is an unlisted Canadian public company with principal operating subsidiaries in California and New York. Loring Ward was previously known as Assante USA prior to the sale of Assante to CI Fund Management Inc. in August 2003 for $846 million. This past summer, Loring Ward began the application process to seek a listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The company says the listing will be subject to meeting the TSX original listing requirements and there can be no assurance that the company’s shares will be listed. If they are listed, there is no guarantee as to liquidity or trading price.

Three years ago, Loring Ward shareholders had approved motions calling for the company to seek a listing of common shares on a stock exchange.

“We are making progress on what we told our shareholders we would do, and that is focus more of the company’s resources on asset management and advisor services, improve financial results and seek a stock exchange listing,” Herrmann said.

Steve Kee, director of media and marketing at the TSX, says Canada’s largest exchange doesn’t comment on companies in the process of listing and that Loring Ward has yet to receive conditional approval.

Kee says it is not common for companies with operations exclusively in the U.S. to list on the TSX, but it is not unprecedented.

Marty Weinberg, who gave up the CEO role with Loring Ward in February 2005 rather than move from Winnipeg to the U.S., says he wasn’t involved with the decision to divest the business-management practices, which were a key driver in Assante’s growth under his leadership. Although he hasn’t had a decision-making role in almost two years, he remains one of Loring Ward’s largest shareholders and continues to have an emotional attachment to the firm because the name was originally registered by Weinberg’s late father more than 40 years ago. “Loring Ward has had tremendous success in the financial advisory business. They’re just trying to focus on the core businesses,” he says.

Easily the highest-profile firm under the Assante umbrella was Steinberg Moorad & Dunn, which was bought in 1999 for $120 million. The company was led by Leigh Steinberg, the sports agent on whom the lead character of the 1996 movie Jerry Maguire was based.

Eventually, Assante was providing financial products to the likes of Hollywood personalities such as David Letterman, Tom Cruise, Michael J. Fox and Roseanne Barr, and high-profile athletes such as NFL quarterback Drew Bledsoe and former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Shawn Green.

Loring Ward reported double-digit increases on a number of metrics for its third quarter ended Sept. 30, including assets under management (a 32% rise from US$3.3 billion to US$4.4 billion) and revenue (up almost 11% from $10.3 billion to $11.4 billion. Revenue for its sports agent segment declined 49%, or $0.9 million, in the quarter, a result of reduced involvement by the company. IE

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