Old Mutual to Retain 19.9% Nedbank Stake After Splitting Units

JOHANNESBUG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Old Mutual Plc, the London insurer splitting into four separate units, said a South African holding company it is setting up will retain a 19.9 percent stake in Nedbank Group Ltd.

Old Mutual Ltd. will remain a minority shareholder in South Africa’s fourth-largest lender “as a foundation for the continued strategic relationship between the two entities,” Old Mutual said in a statement on Wednesday. OML will have a primary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and a secondary one on the London Stock Exchange, it said.

Old Mutual will cut its 53 percent stake in Nedbank by distributing the stock to its shareholders after OML has listed its securities, Old Mutual said, adding that it doesn’t intend to sell any holdings to new strategic investors.

The insurer, which started in South Africa more than 150 years ago, is separating its businesses to help boost value for investors. The four units will comprise its U.S.-based asset management operations, its U.K.-based wealth business, Nedbank and the insurance unit in South Africa. Old Mutual has spent much of this year working on changes to the boards and management teams of its units, with its biggest task being finalizing the balance sheets for the wealth and emerging-markets units.

The company also announced that Nonkululeko Nyembezi will be stepping down from the Old Mutual board after five years at the end of December. She will join Alexander Forbes Group Holdings Ltd. as chairwoman from January, the Johannesburg-based investment and employee-benefits company said in a separate statement.

Source: Bloomberg Business News