Banco Santander has received 18 bids to buy mutual fund platform Allfunds. The sale value is estimated at €2bn and the operation could be closed this month, according to Spanish media.
Local newspaper Cinco Dias reported the deadline to receive offers is next Friday 13 January. There will be then an additional deadline to shortlist bids. The final list of possible buyers will be available by the last week of this month.
Among the candidates to buy Europe’s largest fund platform are private equity Bain Capital, Advent and Hellman & Friedman, along withCinven, Permira and BC Partners.
Allfunds valuation range oscillates between €1.5bn and €2bn sources said, adding that the sale process is “very advanced” and an IPO is the least likely scenario.
In November last year, Santander reached an agreement with Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic to buy back the 50% stake in its asset-management unit.
Santander, which sold the unit to the two private equity firms in 2013 for €2bn, did not disclose the value of the transaction involving full ownership of the asset manager.
As part of the transaction Santander, Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic agreed to work towards the disposal of their participation in Allfunds Bank through a trade sale or an initial public offering (IPO).
Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo, which owns the rest, also explores a sale, the company confirmed at the time.