'Split-up of ING REIM could speed up sale'

Dutch bancassurer ING Group may need to resort to splitting up its real estate investment management unit to conclude a timely sale, sources close to the deal told news agency Reuters. Morgan Stanley, which has been mandated to evaluate a sale as part of a restructuring in the wake of ING Group's EUR 10 bn state bailout, is believed to have received several expressions of interest to take over ING REIM.

Some of the world's biggest fund managers and institutional investors have reportedly expressed an interest to buy the ING unit, the largest real estate investment manager in the world with around EUR 66 bn of assets under management. AXA Real Estate, currently the second-biggest real estate investment manager, told a Reuters Summit last month it was considering a possible bid. Other interested parties include Allianz, asset managers Pramerica and Henderson Global Investors, Ameriprise Financial's Threadneedle, Blackrock Investment Management and China Investment Corp, advised by ex-Morgan Stanley property head John Carrafiell, sources said. The parties declined to comment.

According to one source, Morgan Stanley is sounding out appetite for a price of around EUR 1 bn, split between around EUR 200 mln for the fund management platform and the rest for an estimated EUR 2.3 bn of equity stakes in its managed property funds.

'The strong desire from the Dutch is to sell this in one go but the betting in the market is there's no way they will hold this together, Reuters quoted one source as saying.