UK lender Standard Chartered Plc (LON:STAN) has engaged in discussions to acquire Morgan Stanley’s (NYSE:MS) private wealth management business, Reuters reported, quoting two unnamed sources in the know.
According to one of the sources, the wealth management unit has garnered the attention also of a couple of Indian firms in the financial sector and a formal bidding process is bound to start shortly.
Morgan Stanley put the business, which manages some USD1bn (EUR760.9m), including loans, for sale in November. Wealth management units in India typically attract offers of between 1.5% and 2% of managed assets, one of the sources told Reuters.
Indian media had reported in January that domestic financial services provider L&T Finance Holdings Ltd (BOM:533519) was in talks to take over the business.
