U.S. insurer MetLife is nearing a deal to buy PineBridge Investments’ assets outside of China from Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li’s Pacific Century Group, according to people familiar with the matter.
The companies are hammering out the details of a transaction that could be announced as soon as Monday, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. A deal could value PineBridge’s roughly $100 billion in assets under management outside of China at about $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion, the people said.
The potential agreement will likely exclude a China joint-venture with Huatai Securities Co., which managed more than $70 billion in assets as of the end of June, the people said. The New York-based insurer may do the deal via its subsidiary MetLife Investment Management, which focues on asset classes including fixed income, private credit and real estate and had nearly $610 billion in AUM as of the end of September.
MetLife had been in exclusive talks to buy the assets after outbidding rivals including other asset managers and financial institutions, Bloomberg News reported in October.
Representatives for MetLife, PineBridge and Pacific Century Group didn’t immediately respond to requests seeking comment.
PCG bought PineBridge from American International Group Inc. for $500 million in 2010 as the insurer was selling assets to repay a government bailout. PineBridge’s clients include pension plans, insurance companies, official institutions, private banks, advisers and intermediaries.
