KUALA LUMPUR: Affin Banking Group has agreed to transfer its controlling stake in Affin Hwang Asset Management Bhd (Affin Hwang AM) to CVC Capital Partners Asia Fund V.
In a statement today, it said the transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2022, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
Affin Bank president and group chief executive officer Datuk Wan Razly Abdullah said the entry of CVC, a global private equity player, into a home-grown asset management house is a testament to the confidence in the growth prospects of the financial services sector and the Malaysian economy as a whole.
"With the continuation of the management of Affin Hwang AM and the institutional shareholding presence of Nikko Asset Management, we believe that the business of Affin Hwang AM will continue to perform well moving forward.
"We are confident that CVC, Affin Hwang AM management and together with Nikko AM are committed to support Affin Hwang AM's growth, its superior long-term commitment to deliver value to clients and furtherdevelop its talented employees," he said.
Meanwhile, CVC senior managing director Alvin Lim said the partnership marked its sixth investment in Malaysia since 2007, bringing its total capital invested to over US$1 billion (US$1=RM4.18).
"We remained confident in the strong economic fundamentals of the country and believed this investment is an important opportunity for us to contribute to the continued development of Malaysia's assetmanagement industry and capital markets as well as to grow Malaysia into the region's leading asset management hub.
"We look forward to supporting the management team in expanding the investment and product capabilities and entering other ASEAN markets by leveraging on our experiences and network across the region," he added.
Since its inception in 2001, Affin Hwang AM has grown to become one of Malaysia's leading asset management firms and as at Dec 31, 2021, the fund manager, as well as its wholly-owned Islamic fund management arm, AIIMAN Asset Management, have a combined RM81 billion in assets under administration.