STANDARD CHARTERED SAID TO MULL PRIVATE-EQUITY ASSETS SALE

Standard Chartered Plc, scaling back after two years of lower profit amid slower growth in Asia, is looking to sell part of its remaining private-equity investments, said three people with knowledge of the matter.

The U.K. bank is working with an adviser to sell the holdings, which include stakes in companies throughout Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. A sale could value the investments at about $1.5 billion, two people said.

A slump in Standard Chartered’s shares has led to a shakeup in top management, with Chairman John Peace, Chief Executive Officer Peter Sands, Asia head Jaspal Bindra and Viswanathan Shankar, head of Europe, Middle East, Africa and Americas, all leaving the bank or set to do so. The bank hired Bill Winters, a former co-head of JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s investment bank, to take over as CEO.

“We are mooting a modest portfolio transaction that involves potential investor clients,” London-based Standard Chartered said in an e-mail on Wednesday. “We can’t comment further for reasons of client confidentiality.” The bank said it isn’t planning to sell its entire private-equity business.

Standard Chartered has already sold parts of its private-equity investments, including a $500 million sale in 2014 to investors led by London-based buyout firm Coller Capital.

Talks on the sale are at an early stage and no agreement on structure has been reached, the people said. Banks including Credit Agricole SA, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. have spun out their private-equity units in recent years as a combination of higher capital requirements and regulation make such operations less profitable.

The bank’s shares fell 1 percent to 1,028.50 pence as of 8:29 a.m. in London and have gained about 7 percent this year.

Bloomberg