Bank of Montreal is shaking up its global wealth management operations.

In a deal announced early Monday, BMO will sell its EMEA asset management business to Ameriprise Financial for $1.09 billion in cash.

Ameriprise said in a release the deal allows it to add $124 billion in assets under management in Europe.

The two companies also struck an agreement that will see BMO offer some of its U.S. asset management clients the option of transitioning to Ameriprise's Columbia Threadneedle Investments operations.

The announcement comes a few months after Bloomberg News reported BMO was considering options for its asset management business. 

"This transaction is consistent with BMO's focus on long-term profitability as a leading North American bank and wealth manager, and enables us to focus our resources where we have a competitive advantage and are well-positioned to deliver growth and accretive returns," said BMO Wealth Management Group Head Joanna Rotenberg in a release.

BMO said that due to accounting standards, it will book a $745-million writedown of goodwill on the assets involved in the Ameriprise deal in its fiscal second quarter.

The bank also noted that the transaction will boost its common equity Tier 1 ratio by 29 basis points. As of the end of January, BMO’s key capital ratio stood at 12.4 per cent.

The transaction is expected to close in the fiscal fourth quarter.