The sale of the 24.95% shareholding in OM Asset Management, which reduces its stake to 25.90%, marks the next step in the group’s big plan to separate its four businesses into standalone entities.
The four businesses are South African bank Nedbank, UK wealth manager Old Mutual Wealth, OM Asset Management and Old Mutual Emerging Markets.
The transaction with HNA Capital involves Old Mutual selling a 9.95% tranche of its shares in the company at $15.30 per share and a further 15% at a price of $15.75 per share.
Subject to regulatory approvals in various jurisdictions, the first tranche is expected to complete in 30 days and the second tranche in the second half of 2017.
Old Mutual also said that it intends to continue the reduction of its holding in OM Asset Management “in an orderly manner”.
Old Mutual had been holding talks with a number of buyers of the stake, including HNA Capital.
Bruce Hemphill, group chief executive of Old Mutual, said: “We are very pleased to announce this transaction which brings forward further realisation of value for Old Mutual. It represents another step in delivering our managed separation strategy and secures a strategic long-term investor for OMAM.”
Guang Yang, chief executive of HNA Capital US, said: “OMAM is a diversified, at-scale multi-boutique asset management franchise with an attractive portfolio of high quality investment managers.”
HNA Capital US is the New York-based subsidiary of HNA Capital, the financial services unit of HNA Group, a Fortune Global 500 company focused on tourism, logistics and financial services with approximately $145bn of assets.
HNA Capital includes a diverse set of global businesses in equipment leasing, asset management, insurance, investment banking, securities and credit services.
In June 2016, Old Mutual Wealth announced that it was to be spun out of its parent group and floated on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges as part of the group’s four-way demerger, aiming to complete the process by the end of 2018.
