Amid continuing shareholder disquiet over AMP Limited’s sale of its life insurance business to Resolution Life, the company has welcomed confirmation from the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) that the transaction did not require shareholder approval.
AMP late on Friday issued a formal statement in which it said it had noted that the ASX had “reconfirmed its decision that there is no requirement for shareholder approval in relation to the company’s transaction with Resolution Life”.
It said the ASX had confirmed that the transaction did not represent a disposal of the company’s main undertaking.
The ASX regards the main undertaking of a business as accounting for more than 50 per cent of its revenue.
AMP said the underlying profit generated by the insurance business delivered 37 per cent of AMP’s profit to 31 December, last year, and 24 per cent based on the half year to 30 June, this year.
AMP had been fighting a rear-guard action on the Resolution Life transaction with a number of shareholders, including Merlon Capital Partners, agitating for an extraordinary general meeting on the basis of disputing the value gained from the sale.
