(Reuters) – Embattled Australian wealth manager AMP Ltd AMP.AX on Monday said a buyout offer from U.S.-based Ares Management Corp ARES.N had an implied value of A$1.85 per share, valuing the proposal at A$6.36 billion ($4.47 billion).
The offer price represents a premium of 21% to AMP’s closing price of A$1.53 on Friday, when shares had already surged after AMP announced the receipt of the offer earlier in the day.
In a brief update, the Sydney-based company said talks were at a preliminary stage between itself and Ares, and there was no certainty with regards to the price.
Ares’ offer comes at a time when AMP’s shares have lost more than two-thirds of their value since a public inquiry in 2018 exposed systemic wrongdoing at the company including charging fees for advice that was never given, taking insurance premiums from the accounts of dead clients, and misleading a regulator.
Earlier this year, AMP ceded its position as Australia’s largest wealth manager to IOOF Holdings Ltd IFL.AX after its rival bought National Australia Bank Ltd’s NAB.AX financial advisory arm.
