Japan's MUFG to spend over $660 million to buy robo-adviser WealthNavi
29/11/2024 07:10
TOKYO, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ
Financial Group (MUFG) 8306.T said on Friday it would spend
about 99.7 billion yen ($664 million) to turn WealthNavi Inc
7342.T , a provider of automated asset management, into a
wholly owned subsidiary.
MUFG will launch a tender offer on Monday for 1,950 yen
apiece, or an 84% premium over WealthNavi's closing share price
on Thursday. The stock surged 28% on Friday by the daily limit
to 1,358 yen after the Nikkei business daily reported the deal
ahead of the announcement.
WealthNavi, in which MUFG already has a more than 15% stake,
had over 1 trillion yen in assets under management as of
January, making it the biggest robo-adviser in Japan.
While many Japanese have opted to save their assets, the
government has been pushing for them to invest in financial
markets, expanding a tax-free programme known as NISA partly to
reduce reliance on the public pension system.
MUFG took the partial stake in WealthNavi in February as
financial firms increasingly team up with fintech companies to
expand their online services.
($1 = 150.1000 yen)
(Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama
Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)
((Satoshi.Sugiyama@thomsonreuters.com;))