Old Mutual plots division course

Old Mutual Plc’s shareholders received their final road map for businesses that are going their separate ways.

The insurer is splitting its four financial-services businesses through a “managed separation” and on Friday it gave final details on what shareholders will get.

It’s hiving off its wealth management unit, emerging-markets business and Nedbank Group after concluding that the company’s shares trade at a discount to the total value of the individual assets.

In November, it completed the disposal of its OM Asset Management division, which has since re-branded itself as BrightSphere Investment Group.

The split is the culmination of a strategic review started by CEO Bruce Hemphill when he took the post in November 2015, in an effort to boost profitability and reignite a share price that was trailing its peers.

Hemphill says most of the work will be done by the end of the first half, ahead of schedule.

Here are the steps outlined in statements issued by Old Mutual: It will first deal with Quilter, the UK wealth-management business. The plan is to have a primary listing in London and a secondary listing in Johannesburg. Old Mutual wants to distribute 86.6% of the unit to shareholders and divest up to 9.6% through a sale to institutional investors. It will see Old Mutual Ltd start trading. That’s the sub-Saharan African insurance, savings and asset management business, whose primary listing in Johannesburg is expected to occur on June 26. OML will become the holding company for Old Mutual Plc. It will have a listing on the London Stock Exchange and secondary listings on the Malawi, Namibia and Zimbabwe bourses. The third step, which will take place six months after the listing of OML, will see 32% of Nedbank unbundled to shareholders, with OML retaining a 19.9% stake.

The company is proposing to offer one share in Quilter and three OML shares for every three Old Mutual shares, according to the statement. A shareholder meeting will be held on May 25 to vote on the proposals.

The split is the culmination of a strategic review started by CEO Bruce Hemphill when he took the post in November 2015, in an effort to boost profitability.