ING Group today announced that it has reached an agreement with Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia, Landmark's CEO Hong Choi and Kyobo Life to acquire full ownership of Landmark Investment Management Co. Ltd (Landmark). Landmark is the 12th largest asset manager in Korea with approximately EUR 6.9 billion (KRW 8.6 trillion) in assets under management as of 31 May 2007. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. However, the acquisition will increase the debt/equity ratio of ING Insurance by 65 basis points.
Subject to regulatory approval, ING intends to integrate Landmark with its recently established asset management business, ING Investment Management Korea Ltd. The acquisition will position ING among the top ten asset managers in the market, with combined assets under management of over EUR 10 billion (KRW 13.2 trillion) and a market share of 3.7%.
The acquisition of Landmark will give ING a solid asset management presence in one of its core Asia/Pacific markets, and complement ING's existing presence as the leading foreign life insurer in Korea. The deal allows ING to tap the independent asset manager's large and diversified distribution network of leading commercial banks and brokerage firms to offer a complete suite of onshore and offshore investment management products and services.
Hans van der Noordaa, member of the Executive Board of ING Group, responsible for Insurance Asia/Pacific stated: "This acquisition is in line with ING's organic growth strategy of pursuing carefully selected add-on acquisitions to strengthen our position in Asia/Pacific. Integration of Landmark with ING Investment Management and ING's existing strengths in the Korean wealth management market will provide ING with a base from which we can achieve our growth ambitions in Korea which is one of Asia's largest asset management markets with an annual growth rate of 20%."
The combined ING-Landmark business is ING's sixth operation in the country. In addition to ING Investment Management, ING Real Estate and ING Wholesale Banking, the company partners with Kookmin Bank to operate ING Life Korea and KB Life, which specialises in bancassurance sales, and holds a 20% financial stake in KB Asset Management.
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Press enquiries:
Debbie Brand, ING Group +31 20 541 6526, debbie.brand@ing.com
Karen Williams, ING Asia/Pacific +852 3762 8236, karen.williams@ap.ing.com
Tony Wong, ING Asia/Pacific +852 3762 8292, tony.wong@ap.ing.com |
ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management to over 60 million private, corporate and institutional clients in more than 50 countries. With a diverse workforce in excess of 120,000 people, ING comprises a broad spectrum of prominent companies that increasingly serve their clients under the ING brand.
