Australia's Macquarie Group Ltd. (MQG.AU) said Wednesday it has agreed to acquire U.S. diversified asset management firm Delaware Investments from Lincoln Financial Group (LNC) for US$428 million cash.

In a statement, Macquarie Group said the acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is consistent with its strategy to develop a global asset management capacity.

Macquarie said Delaware, which provides investment services to retail and institutional investors, has more than US$125 billion in assets under management.

The deal will push Macquarie's total assets under management to more than US$300 billion.

Delaware President Patrick Coyne and his management team will continue to run Philadelphia-based Delaware, which employs 583 staff.

-By Lyndal McFarland, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-3-9292-2093; lyndal.mcfarland@dowjones.com