Freshfields and Clifford Chance along with Singapore-based Drew & Napier and Stamford Law have all advised on the latest deal by Dutch insurance firm ING to shed its wealth management assets.
ING is selling its Asian private banking business, consisting of its Singapore subsidiary ING Asia Private Bank and other affiliates, to Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) for US$1.46bn. Clifford Chance and Stamford Law acted as international and local legal counsel respectively to ING, while Drew & Napier and Freshfields acted for OCBC.
This deal follows ING’s recent sale of its Australian and New Zealand wealth management divisions to ANZ Bank and the sale of its Swiss private banking business, along with its Monaco and Jersey subsidiaries, to Julius Baer Group for US$505m. However, according to the company, the divestments are not distress sales but part of a broader plan focusing on markets where the insurance firm is ‘strongest’. “ING will simplify its organisation and will reduce its geographic and business scope, focusing on its positions in markets with the strongest franchises,” said ING chief executive, Jan Hommen.
For Singapore-based OCBC however, the acquisition is something of a coup as it will broaden the customer base of high-net-worth individuals (HNWI). According to the 2009 World Wealth Report, by 2013 Asia is expected to overtake North America as the largest region for HNWI wealth.
The Freshfields team was led by Hong Kong-based lawyer Kay-Ian Ng with support from Jack Wang in Beijing, Melissa Thomas in Shanghai, David Higgins in Dubai and Elaine Williams in London. OCBC are longstanding clients of Freshfields, having retained the firm on its 12% stake acquisition of the Bank of Ningbo in 2006. Alongside Freshfields, Drew & Napier partners Sandy Foo, Eric Chan and Benjamin Gaw advised on local law for this transaction.
The Clifford Chance team was led by Hong Kong-based partners Simon Cooke and Roger Denny. Cooke was also retained by ING on the sale of its Swiss private banking business earlier this month.
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