Competition Regulator To Decide On NAB Bid For AXA APH In September

The saga that has gripped the Australian wealth management industry involving the bitter take -over battle for AXA Asia Pacific Holdings between two bidders NAB and AMP, is unlikely to be resolved before September when the competition regulator consults the market regarding NAB’s proposed $14 billion bid.

The Australian quoted unnamed sources as playing down the likelihood that a new bid from NAB, one which would address the concerns that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s had were imminent.

NAB is rumoured to be negotiating the sale of part of APH as part of plan that would alleviate the competition regulators worries, after its initial bid failed to receive the regulator’s blessing.

The Australian previously reported NAB had identified IOOF as its preferred buyer for APH’s North investment platform and was working towards an agreed deal.

Despite the proposal to divest certain parts of the business, the regulator needs to be satisfied such a sale would address its concerns, and this may involve sounding out the opinion of market participants, a process which may take a few weeks, after which the regulator will once again consider the matter.

NAB proposes to pay $4.6bn for APH’s Australian assets, and to sell the Asian assets to APH’s French parent AXA SA for more than $9bn.

Despite the ACCC’s failure to grant its blessing for the NAB bid not surprising many, its reasoning in not doing so did raise some eyebrows. The North investment platform has been valued at less than $50 million, yet such a small part of the APH business seems to have become the main obstacle to the deal proceeding.

IOOF remains the preferred buyer, ahead of other interested parties that include Perpetual and Count.

AMP the other bidder in the takeover battle has itself engaged in a strategy of counter attack, lobbying the regulator with the argument that the sale of the North investment platform would not have the effect of increasing competition.

The group has argued that IOOF does not have the distribution muscle or funds under management to build North into a competitor able to challenge the likes of NAB’s wealth management unit MLC, or Westpac’s BT and Asgard operations.

Both NAB and APH have the right to terminate their agreement on July 15. Failure to terminate would mean the deal is automatically extended.

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