Manulife Investment Management received approval from Chinese regulatory authorities to acquire the remaining 51% of the shares of Manulife TEDA Fund Management Co. from its joint venture partner, Tianjin TEDA International Holding.
Once the deal closes, Manulife Investment Management will become the first foreign wealth and asset manager to convert its joint venture into a 100%-owned public fund management company in mainland China, said a release Monday.
A Hong Kong-based spokeswoman for Manulife Investment Management said by email that the transaction's purchase price is RMB 1.7 billion ($239 million).
In addition, Manulife Investment Management will become the first Canadian financial services firm to wholly own a public fund management company in mainland China, the news release said.
Approval of the transaction was granted by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, a government ministry of the State Council of the People's Republic of China.
The Manulife spokeswoman also said, "We have not announced the expected (closing) date as of yet."
Manulife Investment Management has been a 49% foreign partner in the Manulife-TEDA joint venture since 2010. Acquiring 100% of the unit will allow Manulife Investment Management to "better serve the growing investment needs of investors in the China market," the release said.
Michael F. Dommermuth, head of wealth and asset management-Asia at Manulife Investment Management said in the release: "This is an important milestone for us, as it means we will have direct access to China's large and fast-growing retail fund market."
China's overall retail fund assets under management jumped by 27% year-over-year to $3.8 trillion in 2021, the release added, and this figure is expected to "more than double" by 2025.
As of June 30, Manulife-TEDA had $12 billion in AUM.
Manulife Investment Management had C$800 billion ($621.3 billion) in AUM as of June 30.
