Merrill Lynch to Sell Real Estate Operations

Merrill Lynch & Co. said Friday that it would sell its residential real estate operations to Prudential Insurance Co. of America for more than $300 million.

The transaction, which includes Merrill Lynch Realty, a residential broker with 18,000 sales representatives in 450 offices nationwide, will not have a significant effect on Merrill Lynch’s net earnings, the company said in a news release.

The announcement marks the final stroke of a divestiture that began four years ago when Merrill Lynch moved to focus on its core broker-dealer businesses.

Merrill Lynch said it will spend about $140 million to buy back publicly traded units of the Fine Homes International LP at $18 apiece before the partnership can be sold to Prudential.

Last year, Fine Homes reported revenue of $792.2 million and pretax income of $37.1 million.

Also included in the transaction is Merrill Lynch Relocation Management, which provides relocation services to the transferees of more than 400 corporations; Landvest, a marketer of luxury properties; Network 50, an international real estate referral network, and Moran, Stahl & Boyer, a management consulting firm.

Prudential will combine Fine Homes with its real estate affiliates under a new unit. Fine Homes’ realty offices will switch to the Prudential name.