By Morag MacKinnon
SYDNEY, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Australian insurer AXA Asia Pacific Holdings rejected on Monday a $10.3 billion break-up plan that would leave its Australian assets with rival AMP Ltd and its Asian assets with French parent AXA.
Under the plan proposed by AMP and Paris-based AXA SA, AMP would buy all of the shares in AXA Asia Pacific, including the parent's 51 percent stake, and then sell AXA Asia Pacific's Asian assets back to the French parent for an undisclosed price.
The share and cash offer implied a bid of A$5.43 per AXA Asia Pacific share, valuing the target firm at A$11.2 billion, based on AMP's closing share price on Friday.
AXA Asia Pacific Chairman Rick Allert said the proposal 'significantly undervalued' the company.
'The proposal has been received against the backdrop of recent weakness in global financial markets and before the growth of our Asian operations is fully reflected in our profitability,' Allert said in a statement.
AMP is offering 0.6896 of its own shares plus A$1.3796 in cash for each AXA Asia Pacific share.
AMP said in a separate statement the proposal would value the Australian and New Zealand assets of AXA Asia Pacific at around A$4 billion, based on AMP's closing share prices on Thursday.
AXA is being advised by Macquarie Group.
AMP is being advised by UBS, a source familiar with the advisory arrangements said.
(Reporting by Morag MacKinnon and Denny Thomas; editing Mark Bendeich)
((morag.mackinnon@thomsonreuters.com;+61 2 9373 1815)) ($1=1.083 Australian Dollar) Keywords: AMP/AXA (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
SYDNEY, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Australian insurer AXA Asia Pacific Holdings rejected on Monday a $10.3 billion break-up plan that would leave its Australian assets with rival AMP Ltd and its Asian assets with French parent AXA.
Under the plan proposed by AMP and Paris-based AXA SA, AMP would buy all of the shares in AXA Asia Pacific, including the parent's 51 percent stake, and then sell AXA Asia Pacific's Asian assets back to the French parent for an undisclosed price.
The share and cash offer implied a bid of A$5.43 per AXA Asia Pacific share, valuing the target firm at A$11.2 billion, based on AMP's closing share price on Friday.
AXA Asia Pacific Chairman Rick Allert said the proposal 'significantly undervalued' the company.
'The proposal has been received against the backdrop of recent weakness in global financial markets and before the growth of our Asian operations is fully reflected in our profitability,' Allert said in a statement.
AMP is offering 0.6896 of its own shares plus A$1.3796 in cash for each AXA Asia Pacific share.
AMP said in a separate statement the proposal would value the Australian and New Zealand assets of AXA Asia Pacific at around A$4 billion, based on AMP's closing share prices on Thursday.
AXA is being advised by Macquarie Group.
AMP is being advised by UBS, a source familiar with the advisory arrangements said.
(Reporting by Morag MacKinnon and Denny Thomas; editing Mark Bendeich)
((morag.mackinnon@thomsonreuters.com;+61 2 9373 1815)) ($1=1.083 Australian Dollar) Keywords: AMP/AXA (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.