Ares drops 100% AMP bid. Only interested in AMP Capital
The Ares bid for AMP Limited is off but it is still interested in AMP Capital.
AMP Limited used its results announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) today to reveal that Ares had informed AMP late last night that it did not intend to proceed with its bid for the company.
AMP said, however, that it continued to engage constructively with Ares regarding AMP Capital.
AMP’s announcement said its portfolio review had concluded that its transformation strategy for the Australian and New Zealand wealth management businesses was likely to be the optimal outcome for shareholders.
On AMP Capital, the company told the ASX it was continuing to review ways to grow and invest in AMP Capital including exploring partnership options.
AMP’s confirmation of the status of the Ares bid came as it reported a difficult full-year result with profitability down across almost all divisions.
It reported a full-year underlying net profit after tax of $295 million down from $439 million in the full year 2019 which it said reflected the impacts of COVID-19 on clients, the business and the broader economy.
The result has seen the company not declare a final dividend.
In Australian wealth management it reported net cash outflows which saw funds under management decrease by 8% to $124.1 billion.
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