Old Mutual: Insurer files to sell stocks in US IPO

Old Mutual filed to sell shares of its US asset management division in New York, four years after Africa’s biggest insurer said it was considering an initial public offering (IPO). Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Credit Suisse would oversee the offering, Old Mutual said in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday. The firm filed to sell as much as $100 million (R1 billion) of shares in the offering, according to the document. Chief executive Julian Roberts has been selling assets to pay down debt since he took over during the financial crisis of 2008. In 2010, London-based Old Mutual sold its US life insurance operation for $350m. The US fund management unit accounts for about $203bn of Old Mutual’s $506bn of assets. The operation is made up of seven different companies, including Acadian and Heitman, which offer equity and fixed-income investments. Shares rose 1.5 percent to close at R35.98. – Bloomberg