AXA tipped to sell private equity unit for around $670m

Credit Suisse has been hired to explore sales options, with AXA Private Equity likely to be valued at about EUR500 million ($672 million), Bloomberg reported, citing a person with knowledge of the discussions. AXA may retain a stake in the business or the management of the PE unit might take a financial interest.

The insurer announced last month that its first-half profit more than quadrupled following asset sales in China, Australia and New Zealand. The firm is preparing for more stringent regulatory reforms due to be phased in from 2013 by seeking to expand its insurance business in Asia while scaling back in countries such as Canada and the UK.

AXA Private Equity is based in Paris and manages about $28 billion in assets, mostly for the likes of pension funds and sovereign wealth funds. It has vehicles targeting buyouts, growth capital, infrastructure and mezzanine, participates in co-investments, and runs a fund-of-funds business that holds stakes in US and European buyout funds run by Blackstone Group, KKR, BC Partners, and others.

AXA has been particularly active in the secondaries market. In August, it was reported that the firm had raised $3 billion for AXA Secondary Fund V, having set a target of $3.5 billion and a hard cap of $4 billion.

It had bought more than $5 billion in portfolios from banks in the 18 months to mid-August as lenders divested non-core assets to comply with the Volcker Rule, which limits investments made with banks' own capital, as well as increased capital requirements that come with Basel III. It acquired a $740 million portfolio of private equity interests from Barclays and $1.7 billion from Citi in June. Last year it scooped up portfolios from Bank of America and Natixis worth $1.9 billion and $718 million, respectively.

AXA followed up in late August with the acquisition of a EUR620 million ($901 million) private equity portfolio from Germany's HSH Nordbank in conjunction with LGT Capital Partners. AXA's take included 18 different limited partnerships focused on European buyout funds, EUR478 million in original commitments.

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• Topics
• Europe
• GPs
• LPs
• Secondaries
• Financials
• Spin outs
• Europe
• Secondaries
• AXA Private Equity Asia