Axa and Australian wealth manager AMP may sweeten their joint bid for Axa Asia Pacific to about A$12.4bn ($11.6bn) after a first offer of A$11bn was rejected on Monday, say Citigroup analysts, reports Bloomberg. Gains in AMP’s stock on Monday swelled the value of the offer to A$5.64. The FT adds that the bid, rejected by AAP as inadequate, marked the second time in five years that Axa, which holds 53.9% of of the Asian business, has tried to buy it outright. Axa on Monday launched a €2bn ($3bn) rights issue as part of what it called an “aggressive” strategy to fund acquisitions.
