* Lake attractive buying opportunities, vows discipline* Says Prudential paying price for AIA "very full"
* Says many assets still need to find a market
TORONTO, March 30 (Reuters) - Manulife Financial Corp. (MFC.TO) says it sees many attractive acquisition opportunities but suggested the price offered by Prudential to buy American International Group's Asian life insurance arm is too high.
Donald Guloien, chief executive of Manulife, North America's largest life insurer, said on Tuesday the company would be disciplined in its approach to making deals even though it has now achieved 'fortress' capital levels.
Guloien there said still were plenty of troubled assets that needed to find their way to market, but he warned deals would be few if the $ 35.5 billion price of the Prudential / AIA deal, which represents 1.7 times embedded value, was considered the new benchmark valuation .
"I'm not going to criticize the deal, but let's just agree, that it's a very full price," Guloien told analysts and investors at National Bank's Canadian Financial Services Conference in Montreal.
"I'm not sure everybody is going to take that as a Benchmark Price. Suffice it to say there's still enough assets out there that have problematic underpinnings are supported Because they directly or indirectly by government support, that have to find a way to market , "he said.
"We've seen attractive opportunities and I expect to see more. But I do agree that if that sets the high water mark and everybody says 'I need to see 1.7 times embedded value before I sell something,' there will not be a lot of M & A transactions. "
Guloien Manulife said so was not threatened by the Prudential / AIA deal, the largest ever in the insurance industry, because Manulife has already competed well against AIA and Prudential would be constrained by the takeover.
"I would think that with the leverage inherent in that deal ... they will have to be very disciplined financially going forward. That gives me a great deal of comfort,"
MORE TAGS...BUSINESS , $ 35.5 billion , MARKETING , MONEY
