M&A

2 November, 2009

Temasek eyes AXA China stake, valued at $1.05 bln

HONG KONG, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Singapore state investor Temasek, Blackstone Group (BX.N) and KKR are among the firms expected to submit first-round bids for AXA's (AXAF.PA) stake in Taikang Life, sources said on Monday, an investment that te French insurer values at $1.05 billion.

Taikang's total assets are worth $28.12 billion, according to an auction-related document obtained by Reuters. The sale document says that Taikang has a 7.9 pct market share in China's life insurance market as of 2008. The document also says that AXA's 15.6 stake is worth $1.05 billion.

AXA officials in Hong Kong were not immediately available for comment. Blackstone and KKR were also not immediately available for comment. Temasek declined to comment. (Reporting by George Chen and Michael Flaherty;

Source: http://www.reuters.com