SHANGHAI : Warburg Pincus is moving closer to buying a stake in Zhong Ou Asset Management Co from Intesa Sanpaolo according to exchange filings and a source, underscoring the U.S. private equity giant's unabated interest in China's $3.8 trillion mutual fund industry.
The planned 23.3 per cent stake sale to Warburg Pincus was confirmed on Monday by a source familiar with the transaction. The CSRC did not say how big a stake Warburg Pincus will buy in Zhong Ou, which has more than 350 billion yuan of assets under management . The development comes as the CSRC speeds up application approvals for foreign financial institutions, having recently allowed Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and Manulife Financial Corp to buy full ownership of their Chinese mutual fund ventures.