French insurer Axa and Australia’s AMP have launched one of Asia’s biggest unsolicited takeover bids of the year, tabling a joint A$11bn (US$10.2bn) offer for Axa’s majority-owned Asian business.

The bid, which was rejected by Axa Asia Pacific as inadequate, signalled the French company’s intent to expand its presence in some of the world’s fastest-growing emerging markets. It marked the second time in five years that it has tried to buy the Asian business outright.

Rick Allert, chairman of Axa Asia Pacific, in which the French insurer holds a 53.9 per cent stake, said that the offer was too low and failed to reflect fully the prospects for its high-growth operations.

“If they come back, then we’ll look at whatever they come back with,” Mr Allert said on a conference call.

Axa, which is Europe’s second largest insurer, on Monday launched a €2bn (US$3bn) rights issue as part of what it called an “aggressive” strategy to fund acquisitions.

Henri de Castries, Axa’s executive chairman, said of the offer: “It’s a reasonable proposal and we are ready to discuss it.”

He added: “This is an opportunity that will reinforce our exposure to Asia. It will be financed conservatively and maintain in our balance sheet necessary flexibility for other opportunities – we want to be in a situation where we can seize opportunities.”

Under the proposal, AMP would buy all the shares in Axa Asia Pacific, sell the Asian operations to Axa for A$7.7bn and retain the group’s Australian and New Zealand units. Axa estimated that the net cost to it would be €1.1bn for the Asian parts of the business.

The implied value of the cash and scrip offer of A$5.34 a share was pitched at a 24 per cent premium to Axa Asia Pacific’s Friday closing price. Shares in Axa Asia Pacific had jumped 33 per cent to A$5.70 by the close in Sydney trading. Axa was up 0.4 per cent at €16.95 at the close in Paris.

Under the terms of Axa’s rights issue, the French insurer is to offer 174.1m new shares in what amounts to a 1-for-12 rights issue at €11.90, a 27.9 per cent discount to the theoretical ex-rights price based on Axa’s closing price of €16.88 on November 6. The offer is fully underwritten by a banking syndicate.

Mr de Castries said Axa was also in negotiations with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to buy out the EBRD’s 30 per cent stake in Axa’s east European insurance subsidiaries at a cost of “hundreds of millions of euros”.