Liberty Financial Companies of Boston appears to be struggling to find a buyer for its asset management units and may have to drop its asking price in order to secure a buyer, according to industry analysts.

AMVESCAP of London announced last week that it will acquire Pell Rudman & Co. of Boston from Old Mutual PLC, also of London, in a multi-year purchase arrangement which includes a $172 million cash payment and potential asset retention payments of up to $28 million over the next two years.

Mellon Financial Corp. of Pittsburgh has announced that it will acquire Standish, Ayer & Wood, a predominantly fixed-income investment manager based in Boston in an all cash deal. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The merger announced earlier this month between First Union Corporation of Charlotte, N.C. and Wachovia Corporation of Winston-Salem, N.C. brings together two families of mutual funds that will have $96 billion in combined assets, according to the companies.

First Union Corporation of Charlotte, N.C. and Wachovia Corporation of Winston-Salem, N.C. announced last week that they have agreed to merge. The combined company, which will provide corporate banking, retail banking, asset and wealth management, capital markets and securities brokerage services and products, will have $222 billion in assets under management, including mutual fund assets of $96 billion, according to the companies. The combined company will be known as Wachovia Corporation. Its headquarters will be in Charlotte.

The proposed merger of American General of Houston and Prudential PLC of London may be in trouble. When initially announced on March 12, the stock swap was valued at $49.52 per American General share. That equates to $26.5 billion based on the 10-day trailing average closing price of Prudential stock as of March 9. On word of the proposed merger, however, the price of Prudential shares dropped dramatically. Since the announcement, there has been considerable speculation by analysts as to whether the deal will be completed.

Robeco Groep, a Netherlands-based independent asset management company, has agreed to purchase Harbor Capital Advisors of Toledo, Ohio from Owens-Illinois, a manufacturer of glass and plastic packaging, for up to $490 million in cash, Robeco Group announced last week. Harbor Capitol Advisors oversees the Harbor Fund family of mutual funds, as well as Owens-Illinois'

Prudential PLC of London announced last week that it plans to buy American General Corporation of Houston for $22.3 billion.

While the stated reason for Stilwell Financial's decision to buy back Janus employee stock was to redistribute equity within the company and offer existing managers some liquidity, the company's actual motives are a subject of speculation among industry observers.

The BISYS Group of Little Falls, N.J. has announced that it will acquire Boston Institutional Group of Boston, an outsourcing services provider for mutual fund complexes, for $35 million. The purchase will add 30 major mutual fund complexes to BISYS's customer list, according to the company. The transaction is expected to be completed by May, according to BISYS.

Whatifi Asset Management of San Francisco, the manger to the five fledgling Whatifi online mutual funds, is receiving an unspecified cash infusion as part of a second-round financing agreement with CIBC Capital Partners, a New York venture capital firm and a unit of CIBC World Markets of Toronto.

In a deal to solidify its status as Canada's largest mutual fund company and strengthen its hand against foreign-owned competitors, Investors Group of Winnepeg, Manitoba, has agreed to acquire the fifth-largest firm, Mackenzie Financial of Toronto.

UMB Financial Corporation of Kansas City, Mo. signed a letter of intent last week to acquire Sunstone Financial Group of Milwaukee, Wis. for an undisclosed amount, according to Mim Allison, president and CEO of Sunstone.

Thomas H. Bailey, CEO and founder of Janus Capitol of Denver, sold half his stake in Janus to the company's parent, Stilwell Financial of Kansas City, Mo., for an undisclosed amount, Stilwell has announced.

The Hartford Financial Services Group of Simsbury, Conn. has agreed to purchase Fortis Financial Group, the variable life insurance, mutual fund and annuity arm of Fortis of Woodbury, Minn., for $1.12 billion in cash, Fortis has announced.

Strong Capital Management of Menomonee Falls, Wis., the investment firm which manages the Strong family of funds and over $42 billion in assets, has announced it will exercise its option to acquire Strong Schafer Capital Management, the alliance between Strong and Schafer Capital Management.

Phoenix Investment Partners of Hartford, Conn. has announced it will acquire a 75 percent stake in Walnut Asset Management, a private asset management firm, and its sister company, Rutherford, Brown & Catherwood, a registered broker-dealer, in a cash transaction of an undisclosed amount.

Management partnerships between broker/dealers and fund managers are part of a trend that is spawning new funds that are being sold through competing broker/dealers, according to industry analysts and executives.

Old Mutual of London has announced the formation of Old Mutual Asset Managers (US), an aligned group of six asset management firms which were affiliates of United Asset Management when it was acquired by Old Mutual in September.

Phoenix Engemann Funds of Pasadena, Calif. has filed a proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking to merge the Phoenix-Engemann Small Cap Fund, a series of Phoenix Strategic Equity Series Funds of Greenfield, Mass., with the Phoenix-Engemann Small & Mid-Cap Growth Fund, a series of the Phoenix-Engemann Funds.