By Denis McMahon and Rick Carew in Hong Kong
French insurer AXA SA (AXA) is looking to raise about $1 billion
from the sale of its stake in China's fourth-largest life insurer,
Taikang Life Insurance Co., according to people familiar with the
situation.
A sale of AXA's 15.6% stake in unlisted Taikang Life would
represent the largest sale of a Chinese insurance asset in a year
when a number of foreign banks have sold off major stakes in the
Chinese financial sector to strengthen their balance sheets.
(This story and related background material will be available on
The Wall Street Journal Web site, WSJ.com.)
AXA could be feeling pressure to sell the stake because of
possible regulatory concern over its investment in two separate
insurance businesses, people involved in the sale process said.
Apart from its stake in Taikang Life, AXA owns a 51% stake in
AXA-Minmetals Assurance Co., a joint venture with China Minmetals
Corp formed in 1999.
The French insurer has hired Morgan Stanley to find a buyer for
the Taikang stake and invited both private-equity firms and
strategic buyers, such as other insurers, to make offers. The
process is still at an early stage.
-By Denis McMahon, 86 216 1201 200;
denis.mcmahon@dowjones.com
(Rick Carew contributed to this article.)
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