National Australia Bank Confirms In Talks To Sell AXA APH's North Platform

National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB) confirmed Friday that it's in early talks about selling AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd.'s (AXA.AU) North investment platform to help win over regulatory approval for its A$13.29 billion bid for AXA Asia Pacific.

In a statement, NAB said it is considering the possible divestment and is holding talks with AXA Asia Pacific, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and "other interested third parties" on the possible sale.

"However, at this stage there is no assurance that such a possible divestment will occur or that it will address the concerns raised by the ACCC," NAB said.

The ACCC said on April 19 it would oppose the bid because of concerns about competition in the provision of retail investment platforms.

The Australian newspaper reported earlier Friday that NAB had identified three possible buyers for AXA Asia Pacific's North Platform and has signed confidentiality agreements with IOOF Holdings Ltd. (IFL.AU), Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd. (BEN.AU) and Perpetual Ltd. (PPT.AU) to conduct due diligence on a possible purchase of the platform.

Earlier this week, AXA Asia Pacific and French parent AXA SA gave NAB six more weeks to win regulatory approval for its bid.

-By Lyndal McFarland, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-3-9292-2093; [e-mail]