Australia’s Largest Fund Manager Completes Capital Raising

AMP, Australia's biggest life insurer and fund manager, completed a capital raising on Friday that is the first step in its restructuring, Reuters reported. Analysts and bankers say the plan could set AMP up as a takeover target.

AMP said on Thursday it would spin off its dragging British insurance and funds management businesses. The firm said it would sell $1 billion Aussie dollars worth, or the equivalent of US$628 million, of its shares to institutional investors. Additionally, it said it would sell US$314 million worth of shares to individual investors. The sale of the institutional shares brought in more than US$755 million on Friday.

The firm said the offering was completed at $3.46 U.S. dollars, in the middle of the range it set, but a discount of more than one-third of its closing price on Thursday.

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