Blackstone to support ex-AIA CEO’s ING Asia bid – report
The Blackstone Group has reportedly agreed to support Mark Wilson, former chief of AIA Group, in his bid for ING’s Asia insurance unit. The sale is expected to generate around $7 billion, with Wilson’s consortium targeting ING’s Southeast Asian business, which could be worth more than $2 billion.
According to Reuters, final bids are due on July 16 and the likes of AIA, Canada's Manulife Financial Corp. and Japan's Dai-ichi Life Insurance are expected to be among the participants. However, early contenders such as Metlife and Prudential Financial have dropped out due to concerns about committing large amounts of capital at a time when the euro zone crisis is creating market volatility.
US private equity firm J.C. Flowers was previously said to be interested in the asset.
ING has sold $18.6 billion of assets globally as part of efforts to repay the Netherlands government for a bailout received during the 2008 financial crisis. Its Asian life insurance and asset management units have been put on the block in two separate deals.
Wilson is credited with guiding AIG's Asia operations through the financial crisis. He was removed as CEO of AIA ahead of the company's $20 billion IPO in Hong Kong in 2010.
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