* ING Asia asset management unit manages about $54 bln
* ING operates in seven Asian markets with 230 investment
pros
* Asian asset management market could hit $4 trillion by
2015
By Saeed Azhar and Denny Thomas
SINGAPORE/HONG KONG, May 29 (Reuters) – Japan’s Nikko Asset
Management and U.S.-based Principal Financial Group are
among the suitors to advance to the next round of bidding for
ING Groep’s Asia asset management business in a deal
that could be worth up to $600 million, sources familiar with
the matter said.
Royal Bank of Canada and Singaporean bank United
Overseas Bank Ltd (UOB) are the other shortlisted
parties, the sources said. It was not immediately clear if other
bidders have progressed to the next round.
A successful buyer will get a ready platform to expand into
Asia’s rapidly growing funds management business. The Asian
asset management industry, excluding Japan, is expected to
double its assets to $4 trillion by 2015, driven by growing
wealth in the region, rising foreign demand and new pools of
assets from insurance and retirement funds, according to a
report commissioned by Citigroup’s C.N Securities and Fund
Services.
The Dutch bancassurer is selling its Asian asset management
and insurance businesses in two separate auctions that are
expected to fetch more than $7 billion in total.
The proceeds will help ING repay the state bailout it
received after the largest Dutch financial services company
almost collapsed during the 2008 global crisis.
Spokespeople for Nikko , Principal, RBC and UOB and declined
to comment. An ING spokeswoman in Hong Kong also declined
comment.
The shortlisted bidders will pore over detailed financial
information and meet with ING’s management over the next two
weeks before deciding whether to submit a final binding bid for
the business.
ING’s asset management sale is linked closely with the
outcome of the insurance auction as nearly half of the 43.3
billion euros ($54.29 billion) that it oversees in the
Asia-Pacific region comes from the life insurance operations. It
is unclear how much of the insurance-linked money will remain
with the asset management company after ING sells the insurance
unit.
The asset management sale had attracted huge interest with
more than 20 potential suitors lining up to get access to the
preliminary sale documents.
UOB’s bid for ING’s asset management arm is aimed at scaling
up its own asset management business to rival Lion Global
Investors, which is controlled by Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp
.
UOB Asset Management manages S$18.8 billion ($14.72 billion)
worth of funds as of Jan 31, while Lion Global manages about
S$28 billion as of March 31, 2012.
ING operates in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Hong
Kong, Malaysia and Thailand, and employs about 230 investment
professionals. ING only manages third-party money in Taiwan and
sources say it could sell that operation separately.
Profit from ING’s global investment management business
stayed flat at 45 million euros in the first quarter from a year
ago and was down from 53 million euros in the last quarter. ING
does not give earnings details of its Asian investment
management operations.
