Standard Chartered sells Indian fund business to IDFC

Standard Chartered has sold its Indian asset management business to Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) for $205 million, or $87 million more than what UBS was willing to pay for the business one year ago.

The sale includes Standard Chartered Trustee Company Private Limited and Standard Chartered Asset Management Company, including minorities, which represent its fund manufacturing business in India.

The sale, which is expected to be completed in the second quarter, excludes Standard Chartered's mutual fund distribution business, which the bank is going to continue to pursue.

ôIDFC is a well-respected financial services company and we are delighted to have reached an agreement with them for the sale of this business,ö says Standard Chartered CEO for Asia, Jaspal Bindra. ôStandard Chartered will remain a distributor of asset management products in India. India is a key market and delivered record results in 2007.ö

The sale marks the entry of IDFC, a specialist in infrastructure and private equity investment in India, into fund manufacturing. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, which was a stumbling block in UBSÆs bid to buy Standard CharteredÆs Indian asset management business last year.

In January 2007, Standard Chartered agreed to sell its Indian asset management business to UBS for $118 million. But the sale fell through in December after UBS failed to receive approval from the Reserve Bank of India.

In a statement issued in December 2007, Standard Chartered said that deal with UBS ôwas conditional upon UBS securing certain regulatory approvals which have not been grantedö.

Standard Chartered, listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, ranks among the top 25 companies in the FTSE100 by market capitalisation. The London-headquartered group has more than 1,700 branches and outlets located in over 70 countries. The bank derives more than 90% of its operating income and profits from Asia, Africa and the Middle East, with balanced income derived from both wholesale and consumer banking.

IDFC, which was incorporated in 1997, has businesses that include project finance, principal investments, asset management for third party funds, investment banking, institutional broking, and advisory services. Its shareholders include the government of India, foreign investors û including government of Singapore, MalaysiaÆs Khazanah Nasional Berhad, IFC and AIG û and other shareholders.