Nomura Explores Sale of Taiwan Asset Management Unit

(Bloomberg) -- Nomura Holdings Inc. is exploring a sale of its Taiwanese asset management unit, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The Japanese firm is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on the potential sale of Nomura Asset Management Taiwan Ltd., according to the people. Nomura is seeking to value the business at about $500 million in any deal, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

The Taiwanese operations, founded in 1998, offer products ranging from equities and high-yield bond funds to money-market funds, according to its website. Nomura bought the business from ING Groep NV for an undisclosed amount in 2014, becoming the first Japanese company to enter the Taiwanese asset management market.

The unit could draw interest from other global asset managers, the people said. Deliberations are at an early stage, and Nomura could still decide to keep the business, the people said.

Representatives for Nomura and Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

Shares of Nomura fell as much as 1.8% in early Monday trading in Tokyo, while the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 1.2%.

To contact the reporter on this story: Manuel Baigorri in Hong Kong at mbaigorri@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fion Li at fli59@bloomberg.net, Ben Scent

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