Property fund manager and investor Lendlease is believed to be in strong pursuit of AMP’s real estate platform within the AMP Capital wealth management business, according to sources.
The pursuit comes with suggestions that AMP’s banking operations have now caught the attention of a suitor, while the wealth and AMP Capital divisions are yet to draw strong interest in their entirety.
However, one view is that AMP would be hesitant to divest the bank in isolation, given that much of its deposits come from the wealth management arm and a suitor is unlikely to come up with the asking price for the listed financial.
Lendlease, which typically counts Gresham as its adviser on transactions and has a $7.91bn market value, will probably have to compete with Charter Hall, which is expected to make efforts to gain control of the real estate operations.
The Lendlease funds management division comprises $36bn of funds under management across various real estate asset classes.
Some believe that the banks advising AMP, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, are turning their attention to the sale of the entire real estate platform owned by the $4.6bn wealth manager.
Speculation is mounting that Charter Hall is weighing a bid for all AMP’s real estate funds.
Dexus Property Group last month put forward an offer to merge the Dexus Wholesale Property Fund with the AMP Capital Diversified Property Fund. Some question whether Dexus and Charter Hall will join forces to gain control of the real estate operations.
A break-up of the real estate platform could erode its value, according to experts.
AMP currently manages a highly attractive portfolio of assets. Among the portfolio are Sydney’s Quay Quarter office and retail complex at Circular Quay, and shopping malls Macquarie Centre, in Sydney’s north, and Pacific Fair on the Gold Coast.
AMP Capital has $192bn of infrastructure and real estate assets under management, but market analysts say that the value depends on the length of its contracts to manage the funds.
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