Insurer Old Mutual met forecasts with a 29% rise in first-quarter sales but gave no comment on whether it had received an offer for its majority stake in Nedbank.
According to a source familiar with the matter on Wednesday, emerging markets bank Standard Chartered has moved to buy a majority stake in Nedbank, South Africa’s fourth largest bank, but Old Mutual provided no comment.
Old Mutual’s life sales for the three months of 2010 rose to £397-million, exactly in line with consensus forecasts provided by the company, it said on Thursday, helped by a boost in wealth management. Excluding the impact of currency volatility, sales were up 21%.
Unit trust and mutual fund sales jumped 51%, or 39% on a constant currency basis.
The insurer said in March it would sell its life unit and list its US funds operation as part of a strategic overhaul, disappointing investors who had hoped for a more far-reaching shake-up of the sprawling conglomerate.
It said on Thursday it had appointed JP Morgan to advise on the US life sale, adding a process was now under way.
Old Mutual, which owns banking, insurance and asset management operations in more than 30 countries, is under pressure to slim down amid shareholder concerns its complex structure is holding back its share price. — Reuters