Allianz aims to sell 49% stake in fund manager JV to Guotai

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German insurer Allianz said on Friday it has entered into definite agreements to sell its 49% stake in CPIC Fund Management Co. to Chinese investment bank Guotai Junan Securities.

The transaction will unwind a tie-up dating back to 2003, when Allianz entered into the joint venture that was the first Sino-foreign fund management in the nation.

Now, China has opened its asset management market to greater ownership by foreigners, and Allianz said the sale was in line with its strategy "to focus on its fully owned asset management activities in China".

The transaction is subject to the approval of CSRC and other relevant authorities, Allianz said.

Guotai was the original partner of Allianz in founding the joint venture 20 years ago, but Guotai then sold its 51% stake in 2017 to China Pacific Insurance for 1.045 billion yuan ($143.03 million).

($1 = 7.3063 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Ozan Ergenay and Tom Sims, Editing by Rachel More)