M and A
Taiwan-US Asset Management JV Gets Hong Kong Licence
Cathay
Conning Asset Management, the joint venture between Taiwan
insurer Cathay Life
and Conning & Co, the Connecticut-based asset manager, has got
the green
light to launch from Hong Kong’s financial watchdog, say reports.
The joint
venture, which was announced last June, has been given licenses
to manage
assets and advise on securities by Hong Kong’s Securities and
Futures Commission, said a report in Asian
Investor.
The 50-50 JV
with Conning reflects Cathay’s need to derive greater value from
its global
exposure, primarily from the US, which it
gains through the Conning partnership.
Cathay Life has $70.9 billion of assets. It has a quota of 45 per cent of assets under management allotted for international exposure, the largest such quota among Taiwanese insurance companies, said the report.
Conning & Co,
with $77 billion of assets under management, specialises in
managing insurance assets. It was recently acquired by private
equity fund Aquiline Capital
Partners.
As part of
the deal, Cathay Financial also took a 9.9 per cent stake in
Conning, valued at
$19 million, and both Jeffrey Greenberg and Cathay Financial
president Li
Chang-kung have both indicated that Cathay will eventually buy
out Aquiline’s
position, according to the publication. The two firms did not
return calls for comment.
