Dexia in Final Talks for Sale of Asset Management Unit
06/27/2012| 02:05pm US/Eastern
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--Three bidders in final stage of auction
--Russia's Sberbank bought Turkey's DenizBank for up to EUR3.09 billion in May
--Dexia chief executive and chairman resign
Franco-Belgian lender Dexia SA (>> DEXIA) said Wednesday it is entering final negotiations on the sale of Dexia Asset Management with three international bidders.
The sale will be the final stage in the bank's dismantling program, which began last October. In nine months, Dexia has made six asset sales for a total value of about 8.7 billion euros ($10.9 billion), it said.
Dexia didn't identify the remaining bidders but reports have previously suggested that Australia's Macquarie Group Ltd. (>> Macquarie Group Limited), Affiliated Managers Group Inc. (>> Affiliated Managers Group, Inc.), Federated Investors Inc. (FII) and New York Life Insurance Co. were interested.
Earlier potential buyers, including buyout firms CVC Capital Partners, Advent International and Permira, dropped out of the process in May.
Barclays PLC (BCS) is running the sale of the business, which could fetch as much as EUR750 million.
Dexia also said Wednesday that its board has accepted the resignation of Jean-Luc Dehaene as chairman of the board of Dexia SA as of July 1. Karel De Boeck, already a member of the board, has been appointed interim chairman.
The bank also confirmed that Chief Executive Pierre Mariani has handed in his resignation, but will continue to fulfill his duties until approval of the semi-annual 2012 accounts.
Earlier this month Russia's Sberbank clinched the purchase of Dexia's Turkish business DenizBank for up to EUR3.09 billion. The deal was Sberbank's largest ever acquisition, designed to diversify the bank away from its home market where it already dominates.
Write to William Horobin at william.horobin@dowjones.com
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