ACCC to release report on AMP bid for AXA AP
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will release its findings on AMP’s now defunct bid for AXA Asia Pacific (AXA AP) today. The report is expected to give an indication of the areas of concern that may affect the National Australia Bank (NAB) bid.
There has been speculation that the ACCC is specifically investigating the impact of NAB’s acquisition of AXA AP on the Australian platforms market. Recent research by Wealth Insights has revealed that control of the Australian platforms market has nearly halved in the past four years. The market is now dominated by three of the nation’s big four banks. It is expected that the situation will only be exacerbated should the acquisition of AXA AP by NAB go through.
The ACCC is expected to release its findings on the NAB bid on March 18, and in the meantime it has asked for comment on the overlap of AXA AP and NAB’s operations in the areas of life insurance, superannuation, financial planning and advisory services, investment platforms and fund management.
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