ACCC Reviews National Australia Bank Proposed Bid For AXA APH

Australia's competition watchdog said Wednesday it has begun an informal review of National Australia Bank Ltd.'s (NAB) proposed A$13.3 billion acquisition of AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd. (AXA.AU).

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission said on its website that it proposes to announce its findings on the matter on March 18.

NAB unveiled its proposed A$6.43 a share bid on Dec. 17, upstaging a rival offer from Australia's second-largest fund manager, AMP Ltd. (AMP.AU). NAB must now convince AXA SA (AXA), which owns 53.9% of AXA Asia Pacific, to join it in the proposal, as AXA SA had previously backed AMP's offer.

The regulator had previously said it was "monitoring" the proposal as it waited for submissions from NAB.

"NAB has sought ACCC clearance regarding its proposed acquisition of AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd.'s Australian and New Zealand businesses," said the ACCC in a statement.

The ACCC noted that NAB and AXA Asia Pacific overlap in the areas of life insurance, superannuation--or pension--products, wealth management and financial planning and advisory services.

AXA SA is locked in an exclusivity deal with AMP until Feb. 6, and is expected to start talks with NAB soon after.

The ACCC is also conducting an informal review of AMP's proposal, despite it being rejected by AXA APH's independent directors who backed the NAB plan.

The regulator is due to report its findings on the AMP proposal on Feb. 10.

-By Rebecca Thurlow, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-2-8272-4679; rebecca.thurlow@dowjones.com

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