GENEVA (AP) — The Julius Baer Group says it has agreed to pay 860 million francs ($879 million) to buy Bank of America Corp.'s Merrill Lynch wealth management operations outside the United States.

The Swiss private banking group says the deal would boost its assets by about 40 percent, adding around 81 billion francs ($84 billion) to the assets it will manage plus 2,000 employees, including 500 financial advisers.

The Zurich-based company says it also will pay 312 million francs in after-tax restructuring, integration and retention costs, while Bank of America will cover another 121 million francs ($125 million).

Chief Executive Boris Collardi said in a statement Monday the acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approvals expected by early 2013, "will considerably strengthen Julius Baer's leading position in global private banking."