Australian regulator blocks £8bn NAB bid for AXA Asia Pacific

The Australian regulator has blocked National Australia Bank’s (NAB) £8 billion bid for AXA Asia Pacific but approved a rival bid from wealth manager AMP. 

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) warned the deal would hurt competition for retail investors. The £8 billion deal would have seen NAB buy AXA Asia Pacific’s wealth management and wrap business while selling back its Asian operations to AXA. 

NAB has six weeks to tackle the concerns raised by the regulator over the takeover deal. The regulator meanwhile has given the green light for the bid proposed by wealth manager AMP, which was knocked out of the negotiations in December.

‘At the heart of the ACCC's decisions are concerns about innovation, and as a consequence future rigorous and effective competition between retail investment platforms,’ ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said. ‘Allowing NAB and AXA to merge would significantly diminish incentives to compete for retail investment platforms used by investors that have complex financial needs.’