Lincoln Financial Group has announced that it has completed the sale of asset management subsidiary Delaware Investments to an Australian company for $451.8 million.

Effective Jan. 5, the business and employees of Delaware Investments will operate as part of The Macquarie Group’s global asset management arm, Macquarie Funds Group. The company operates in more than 70 office locations in 28 countries.

The business, with the new name “Delaware Investments, a member of Macquarie Group,” will maintain its Philadelphia, Pa., headquarters and continue operating under its president, Patrick Coyne, and its current management team. Coyne will report to Ben Bruck, an executive director of Macquarie Funds Group and head of the company’s Affiliated Managers Division, who has relocated to Philadelphia.

“Delaware and Macquarie share a common approach to asset management and clients should expect to see consistency and continuity in how their investments are managed,” Coyne said in a statement. “This transaction was a tremendous opportunity for the further development of our business and I am delighted that we are now officially a part of Macquarie.”

In connection with the sale agreement, Delaware Investments will continue managing Lincoln Financial general account insurance assets under a long-term contract and will provide additional sub-advisory services.

Proceeds of the sale will be used for general corporate purposes, according to Lincoln Financial Group.

In a statement, The Macquarie Group said the acquisition is part of a strategy to develop a global asset management capability “through building a highly regarded team of investment professionals, offering an attractive suite of investment products and gaining broader access to the world’s largest capital market – the United States.”

“Delaware’s diversified U.S. asset management capability is complementary to Macquarie’s both in sector coverage and footprint,” Bruck said in a statement. “Clients in the U.S. and around the world will benefit from the increased scale and product offerings that come as a result of this transaction. Above all, clients will experience the same fiduciary excellence that they have come to know and value at Delaware.”