(31 March 2010 – Australia) The National Australia Bank (NAB) and AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Limited (AXA) have requested a trading halt to their ordinary shares; pending a market announcement.Both the firms have requested an immediate trading halt on their ordinary shares until the commencement of trading on Wednesday.
NAB said that the halt is in relation to an imminent announcement to the market regarding the status of contractual negotiations to acquire the Australian and New Zealand businesses of Asia AXA Pacific.
AXA said, in its request to the Australian Securities Exchange, that the ‘contractual negotiations’ surround NAB’s purchase of AXA’s New Zealand and Australian businesses and for NAB to then sell AXA’s Asian business to AXA SA.
If the an agreement to acquire is finalised NAB’s wealth management market share, which with MLC currently sits at around eight percent, could rise to over 15 percent.