Fundsters still scratching their heads over the reported auction featuring the Hartford's [see profile] mutual fund business may want to take a look at The Street. Maria Woehr gathered the opinions of a number of analysts who offered their takes on the sale chatter. Those analysts pointed to Hartford's Japanese business as the driver of the sale.

"Their business in Japan has a lot of uncertainty for investors," FBR Capital Markets analyst Randy Binner was quoted by The Street as saying. "A billion in extra capital would be a good deal for them because of concerns due to the level of yen, interest rates and uncertainty over regulations."

Deutsche Bank analyst Darin Arita described the sale as a way for Hartford to raise its market cap by 70 percent. Credit Suisse analyst Thomas Gallagher worried about why Hartford would want to get rid of such "an attractive business," and Morningstar analyst Gregory Warren wondered who would buy.

"I was kind of under the belief that most of the selling of asset management businesses were done," Warren reportedly said. 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE