According to a newspaper report in The Age, Australian banking major ANZ is said to be in talks to acquire fund manager IOOF Holdings. The negotiations are believed to be at a preliminary stage.
The report, which quoted unnamed sources says that negotiations are ongoing, and it is uncertain whether a deal will eventually be reached.
IOOF is one of the few remaining independent fund managers in the financial advisory and superannuation industry. The acquisition negotiations come at a time when there is large scale consolidation taking place within the wealth management industry.
If a deal is eventually reached, then it will follow AXA Asia Pacific Holdings agreement to be acquired by National Australia Bank in a transaction costing NAB $4.6 billion
IOOF and ANZ both declined to comment.
“We don’t comment on market speculation,” an ANZ spokesman said yesterday.
As part of its negotiation with IOOF, ANZ is believed to have agreed to remain outside the takeover battle that has erupted over APH’s Australian wealth management business, which for the original bidder AMP, really amounts to an existential one.
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