DBS, Julius Baer weigh bids for ABN AMRO Asia wealth unit – sources

Saeed Azhar and Sumeet Chatterjee, Reuters

DBS Group Holdings (DBSM.SI) and Julius Baer Gruppe (BAER.S) are weighing bids for Dutch lender ABN AMRO Group’s (ABNd.AS) Asia private banking business that manages about $20 billion in assets, several people with direct knowledge of the matter said. ABN AMRO, which has hired Lazard Ltd (LAZ.N) to advise on the sale, could also receive preliminary bids from other wealth managers, the people said, adding that first-round bids are due in the next few weeks. The sale could fetch between $300 million and $350 million, or 1.50-1.75 percent of assets under management, senior M&A bankers said, citing valuations for similar deals.

The Dutch bank’s plan comes after several Western firms have withdrawn from private banking in Asia, hit by pressure to reduce costs at home, slowing growth in the region and rising compliance costs. ABN AMRO declined to comment on whether there was a plan to sell the business but said in an emailed statement that it had cut more than 20 jobs in Hong Kong and Singapore in the past few months to make its business more efficient. The bank, which returned to the stock market in November after seven years in government hands, currently has about 130 bankers to the rich in Asia and the Middle East.

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