M and A

Latest News for M and A

• August 29, 2010 - BEA Signs Strategic Partnership With Malaysian Financial Services Firm
  

  The Bank of East Asia has signed a memorandum of mutual understanding with AFFIN Holdings Berhad to form a strategic partnership that would boost business prospects in key Asian countries. The two companies have been collaborating since 2007, when BEA purchased a 23.

• August 17, 2010 - BlackRock Explores Taiwan Funds Market Via Primasia Buy
  

  BlackRock has announced plans to acquire Hong Kong asset manager Primasia Investment Trust as part of its expansion plans into Taiwan's mutual fund market. Financial details were not disclosed in the statement.

• August 12, 2010 - ICBC Buyout Of Subsidiary Sends Shares Soaring
  

  Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia) enjoyed a 25 per cent rise in its share value to HK$28. 75 after its parent company recently offered to take the firm private for HK$10.

• August 10, 2010 - Manulife Collaborates With Kotak Mahindra For Asian Expansion
  

  Manulife Asset Management (Hong Kong) has reached an agreement with India's Kotak Mahindra to collaborate on fund management and distribution activities in Asia. The move is key to Manulife's expansion plans in the region and opens up further opportunities for Kotak Mahindra both the institutional and retail wealth management areas, the firms said.

• August 9, 2010 - NAB Relaunches Bid For AXA Asia
  

  National Australia Bank has re-instigated its $13 billion bid for AXA’s Asia arm, as the bank has proposed to undertake to sell on AXA’s North platform to wealth management firm IOOF Holdings. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has launched a market consultation on the proposed undertakings, to address concerns that it would significantly reduce competition.

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Latest Features for M and A

• May 4, 2010 - Australia's Battle Of Investment Platforms - Competition Authority Weighs In
  

  At the end of the day, the Australian competition regulator’s decision to veto NAB’s A$14 billion (around $12. 9 billion) takeover of AXA Asia Pacific was not about customers or revenue or market capitalisation. It came down to the battle of the investment platforms.

• March 28, 2010 - Big Changes Loom In Australia's Wealth Management Landscape
  

  The Australian wealth management landscape could be set for major changes this week with NAB reportedly close to announcing final terms on its A$13 billion bid for AXA Asia Pacific. A long seduction by NAB executives, including visits to Paris by the bank’s senior executives, seems to have worked its charms on AXA, which has also been pondering a slightly inferior offer from AMP, Australia’s biggest insurer. At this point, it seems that only the intervention of competition regulator the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) can stop NAB’s bid to becoming the largest player in the country’s mid-tier wealth management market.

• February 23, 2010 - Worries That Australian Wealth Market Lacks Competition
  

  Competition, or rather the lack of it, is becoming a major factor in Australia’s wealth management industry as several players fight against the trend for consolidation. AMP’s bid for the Australian assets of French bancassurance giant AXA is all about shoring up the company’s wealth franchise against the encroachment of the Big Four banks, one of which – the NAB – is the rival bidder in the A$13 billion ($11. 7 billion) battle.

• February 9, 2010 - Battle Is Joined To Buy AXA Assets In Australia
  

  The game’s afoot in Australia’s wealth management industry in the battle for AXA’s domestic assets, with AMP letting its exclusive rights to negotiate lapse at this week's deadline. AMP has bid A$11 billion (around $9. 55 billion) to buy AXA Asia Pacific Holdings, which has a 54 per cent stake in AXA Australia, and had an exclusivity agreement to negotiate with AXA which lapsed this week.

• December 20, 2009 - It Is Feeding Time For Wealth Management M&A
  

  It’s feeding time in Australia’s wealth management industry and the biggest predator from the current frenzy will emerge as the master of the country’s envied compulsory retirement savings scheme. As the pace of consolidation marches on, the number of potential targets is shrinking. That is why AMP’s A$12.

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