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Bloomberg
ANZ Bank New Zealand said the country’s Overseas Investment Office has declined the application of China’s HNA Group to acquire UDC Finance.
“While the sale agreement between the parties remains in place, unless HNA successfully overturns the OIO decision, the sale will not proceed,†ANZ New Zealand Chief Executive David Hisco
said in a statement. “We don’t know if HNA will attempt to overturn the decision. If the sale does not proceed, we’ll assess our strategic options regarding the future of UDC.â€
In November last year, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. said it had agreed to sell UDC, the asset-finance business of its New Zealand unit, to HNA for about NZ$660 million ($461 million). ANZ’s net gain on the sale would be around A$100 million ($77 million) and its common equity Tier 1 ratio would improve by about 10 basis points after the transaction, ANZ said at the time.
For HNA, a Chinese conglomerate that grew out of a local airline, the purchase was to be another acquisition in the company’s push to expand abroad. ANZ said today there is no immediate requirement to do anything about UDC given the strength of ANZ’s capital position. “UDC continues to be a hig-
hly profitable and strong business,
with great staff and customers, and a growing loan portfolio across a range of industries,†ANZ said.