Nomura Holdings, in response to a Nihon Keizai newspaper report Monday that Nomura is poised to acquire a roughly 40% stake in American Century Investments, said no decision has been made at this point regarding that matter.
In a statement released Monday, Nomura said it is considering any and all measures to strengthen its asset management business – already Japan's largest, with assets under management of $321.4 billion as of Sept. 4.
According to the local news report, Nomura would pay roughly 120 billion yen (roughly $1 billion) for the 40% stake in Kansas City, Missouri-based American Century held by Toronto-based bank CIBC.
The Canadian bank purchased that stake from J.P. Morgan Chase four years ago for just under $850 million.
As of the Sept. 30 close of a quarter which saw stocks suffer sharp declines globally, American Century reported AUM of $141.5 billion. Four years earlier, around the time CIMB announced its agreement to buy J.P. Morgan's stake in the firm, American Century reported AUM of $101.3 billion as of Sept. 30, 2011.
The news report said Nomura could announce the deal as early as Monday.
A Nomura spokeswoman said Monday there was nothing to add at present beyond the company's statement.
Spokespeople for American Century and CIBC couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
