Macquarie Group Limited And Others Place Bids For ING Groep NV's Asia Arm; Royal Bank of Canada, Others Expects To Submit Indicative Bids-Reuters

Reuters reported Macquarie Group Limited, Principal Financial Group and United Overseas Bank Ltd. are among suitors that have submitted bids for ING Groep NV's Asian asset management business in a deal that may be worth around $500 million to $600 million. ING is selling its Asian asset management and insurance businesses in a roughly $7 billion deal to help repay the state bailout it received after the largest Dutch financial services company almost collapsed during the 2008 global crisis. Japan's Nikko Asset Management and South Korea's Hanwha Group, which runs the life insurance unit of KOREA LIFE INSURANCE, have also placed bids in the first round of the sale that closed on Monday. Ameriprise Financial, Inc., two Japanese financial institutions and Royal Bank of Canada were also expected to have submitted indicative bids. Credit Suisse is advising ING on the sale. ING has dispatched information on the sale to more than 20 parties, underscoring the strong interest in the auction, though some potential suitors dropped out after studying the limited financial details in the sale documents, sources said. ING manages about EUR43.3 billion ($56.1 billion) of assets in the Asia-Pacific region. It operates in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand, and employs about 230 investment professionals.