Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:18pm EST

n">(Reuters) - AllThingsD, the widely read technology blog run by Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg, has begun discussions with owner News Corp about extending or ending their partnership, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.

According to these sources, AllThingsD's contract with News Corp expires at the end of the year. One of the sources said Swisher and Mossberg have to deliver a business plan by next week to Robert Thomson, the former Wall Street Journal managing editor who will helm News Corp's publishing unit as CEO after it is spun off.

The fact that AllThingsD's contract is up this year is well known, and sources said the website is receiving a lot of "inbound interest" from potential buyers parallel to its talks with News Corp.

Among the names mentioned as having reached out to AllThingsD were Conde Nast, where Swisher recently signed to work as a contributing writer for Vanity Fair, and Hearst.

Sources also speculated that former Yahoo and News Corp executive Ross Levinsohn might be looking at the website given his new role as Chief Executive of Guggenheim Digital Media, which comes complete with "significant capital to acquire and invest in new media companies." The private equity shop already owns Billboard, Hollywood Reporter, and Adweek.

AllThingsD has reported that AOL expressed interest in acquiring it in the past, but said those talks "were preliminary at best."

Calls to AllThingsD were referred to a News Corp representative who declined comment. A Conde Nast representative declined comment. Calls to Hearst were not immediately returned. Calls and emails to Ross Levinsohn were not returned.

While AllThingsD is recognized as the brainchild of Swisher and Mossberg, News Corp actually owns the website and its name. However, according to provisions in their contract, Swisher and Mossberg have approval authority over any sale, the first source said.

Technically, News Corp could retain the AllThingsD name in the event of a sale, forcing Swisher and Mossberg to start a new venture under a different brand name. But historically in these types of situations a deal is usually worked out to allow the founders to take the company name with them as part of a settlement.

Sources described the website and conference business combined as profitable. It has grown into a technology industry must-read, and features a popular conference division known for snagging A-list corporate executives for intimate interview sessions. Apple's Steve Jobs, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and virtually every other major technology executive has spoken at the D Conference, as it is known.

Earlier this week, AllThingsD's well-regarded media writer, Peter Kafka, led a media-centric conference for the website that included panels with Intel's Erik Huggers, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino, and Netflix's programming boss Ted Sarandos, among others.

The website has two more conferences on the docket for this year: a mobile one that was postponed until April due to Hurricane Sandy, and the main D Conference in May.

Sources described the relationship between News Corp and AllThingsD as amicable but stressed.

"Like all partnership, there could be more cooperation between the two," said one source. "There is tension between AllThingsD and the Wall Street Journal, for example."

As a result of management changes, over the last few years the website has reported to numerous News Corp executives, among them Gordon Crovitz, Les Hinton, and now Lex Fenwick and Robert Thomson.

Should the two sides reach a deal on a new contract, AllThingsD would be included as part of the publishing unit in the News Corp split.

(Additional reporting by Jennifer Saba; Editing by David Gregorio)

(This story corrects the 10th paragraph to show source said website is profitable in combination with conference business, instead of website is profitable. Corrects spelling of Erik Huggers name in paragraph 11 to Erik, from Eric)

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BEIJING | Mon Feb 18, 2013 4:48am EST

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group is favoured to secure a majority stake in troubled U.S. electric car maker Fisker Automotive, according to two sources familiar with Fisker's search for a strategic investor or partner.

Fisker, the Anaheim-based plug-in hybrid maker, is currently weighing bids from two Chinese auto makers: Geely, the owner of Sweden's Volvo, and state-owned Dongfeng Motor Group Co..

The interest in Fisker reflects China's strong push into alternative fuel cars as it seeks to foster the green technology sector and clear the increasingly polluted skies of its cities.

The knowledgeable individuals said both offers, which Fisker received in the last three weeks, were worth between $200 million to $300 million. A deal would give the suitors a majority stake in the southern Californian company, they said.

The sources, who are close to Fisker, said Geely appeared to be the preferred suitor.

Fisker's corporate leaders and their advisers believe Geely is "more serious" and "passionate" about Fisker and its technology, one of the individuals said.

The Hangzhou-based company also "can move fast" in making decisions -- unlike Dongfeng, whose responsiveness could be hampered by its multi-layered decision-making structure typical in a Chinese state-owned enterprise, the source said.

That quality is likely to work against Dongfeng, since Fisker is under a tight deadline to find a suitor, he added.

"Most of all, with Geely we're dealing with one decision maker," the individual said, referring to its charismatic founder and chairman, Li Shufu.

Geely's Li is also deemed a better suitor due to his experience in making cross-border acquisitions. In 2010, Geely acquired all of Volvo from its previous owner Ford Motor Co.

"Overall, we think Geely is a better fit," the knowledgeable individual said.

The sources noted that Geely had already sent a team of engineers to Anaheim to evaluate Fisker and its technology for battery-powered electric cars with a small gasoline engine used to extend the car's driving range.

Victor Yang, a Geely spokesman in Hangzhou, said: "we are not in position to comment on this at the moment."

Dongfeng also declined to comment. "Dongfeng pays attention to all potential opportunities of international cooperation to cope with future market development both at home and abroad," said spokesman Zhou Mi in an email on Monday.

INTEREST FROM EUROPE, SOUTH KOREA

Fisker -- the producer of the $100,000-plus Karma which it began selling in late 2011 -- fielded interest from several companies including from both South Korea and Europe.

But it received only two firm bids, from Geely and Dongfeng, the sources said. Fisker is hoping to sew up a deal by mid-March, another person said.

Any deal is likely to also involve another Chinese player, Wanxiang Group, an auto parts maker that has purchased bankrupt U.S. lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems, Fisker's primary battery supplier. A Wanxiang executive declined to comment.

"The company has received detailed proposals from multiple parties in different continents which are now being evaluated by the company and its advisors," Fisker spokesman Roger Ormisher said in an email over the weekend.

He declined to comment further.

A strategic pact would give Fisker the funds to start building its second and more affordable model, the Atlantic plug-in hybrid, which is expected to start at around $55,000 and be Fisker's high-volume vehicle.

Over the last several months, Fisker Chief Executive Tony Posawatz and other Fisker executives have traveled to Europe and Asia to meet investors and automotive makers.

The two bids Fisker is weighing now stem from the trip to Asia that Posawatz and his top executives made in late January.

During that trip, they traveled to Hangzhou, where Geely is based, to meet its chairman Li and his technology chief, Frank Zhao. They also traveled to Wuhan for a meeting with top executives from Dongfeng and then to Beijing for a meeting with Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co.

The search for financial backers comes after a tough 2012 marred by the rocky and delayed introduction of Fisker's Karma, A123's bankruptcy and an election season that turned the U.S. government-backed company into a political punching bag.

(Additional reporting by Li Ran in Beijing and Deepa Seetharaman in Detroit; Editing by Alex Richardson)

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A company logo of Dell is seen on the cover of its laptop at a Dell outlet in Hong Kong October October 21, 2009.

NEW YORK | Fri Feb 1, 2013 2:22am EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dell Inc is nearing an agreement to sell itself to a buyout consortium led by its founder and Chief Executive Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake Partners, possibly announcing a deal as soon as Monday, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Michael Dell is expected to take majority ownership of the world's third-largest personal computer maker, which currently has a market value of $23 billion, while Silver Lake and Microsoft Corp would become minority investors, a third person familiar with the matter said.

The final price the group is expected to pay Dell shareholders could not be immediately learned. The deal would mark the largest leveraged buyout since the global financial crisis.

The transaction is set to be finalized over the weekend but the buyout consortium is working on last-minute details and the timetable could still slip, the people cautioned, asking not to be named because the matter is not public.

The investment group, which held negotiations with Dell's camp in New York on Thursday, has secured up to $15 billion of debt financing to take Dell private from four investment banks -- Barclays, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and RBC Capital, people familiar with the matter said.

Barclays is also advising Silver Lake on the transaction, along with Perella Weinberg Partners, said two of the people. JPMorgan Chase & Co is advising Dell.

Representatives for Dell, Microsoft and Barclays declined to comment. Silver Lake and Perella Weinberg could not be immediately reached for comment.

As part of the transaction, Michael Dell will contribute his existing stake of almost 16 percent in the company toward gaining majority ownership, sources close to the matter have said.

Going private would allow Dell, which has been trying to become a one-stop shop for corporate technology needs as the PC market shrinks, to conduct that difficult makeover away from public scrutiny.

Dell has formed a special committee of its independent directors and hired Evercore Partners Inc to assess whether the company is getting the best deal for shareholders and not one that is just in the best interest of Michael Dell, several people familiar with the matter have told Reuters previously.

(Additional reporting by Poornima Gupta in San Francisco and Bill Rigby in Seattle; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

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Pro-Taliban Pakistani tribal leader Maulvi Nazir Wazir, also known as Mullah Nazir, speaks during a news conference in Wana, the main town of the South Waziristan region bordering Afghanistan in this April 20, 2007 file photo. A U.S. drone strike killed a Nazir, his deputy and eight others in northwest Pakistan, intelligence sources and tribal leaders said January 3, 2013, deaths that could substantially alter the power balance in the Taliban heartland of Waziristan.

WANA, Pakistan | Thu Jan 3, 2013 6:20am EST

WANA, Pakistan (Reuters) - A U.S. drone strike killed a key Taliban commander, his deputy and eight others in northwest Pakistan, intelligence sources and tribal leaders said Thursday, deaths that could substantially alter the power balance in the Taliban heartland of Waziristan.

Maulvi Nazir Wazir, also known as Mullah Nazir, was killed on Wednesday night when missiles struck a mud house in South Waziristan, near the Afghan border, intelligence sources and residents said.

He had survived at least one previous drone attack and was wounded weeks earlier in a bomb attack believed to have been launched by Taliban rivals.

His key commanders and his deputy, Ratta Khan, were also killed in the attack at Angoor Adda, near the provincial capital of Wana, sources said.

Nazir had expelled foreign militants from his area, favored attacking American forces in Afghanistan and had signed non-aggression pacts with the Pakistani military in 2007 in 2009. That put him at odds with some other Pakistan Taliban commanders, but earned him a reputation as a "good" Taliban among some in the Pakistan military.

Nazir's successor was announced in front of a crowd of thousands at his funeral, a witness said. People will be watching closely to see if fellow Wazir tribesman Salahud Din Ayubi continues with Nazir's policies.

The military has a large base in Wana, where Nazir and his men were based. Nazir presided over an uneasy peace between the militants and the army there, but the truce was endangered by the military's alliance with the United States and drone strikes, a military officer said recently.

"The (drone) program is making things very difficult for us. Nazir is the sole remaining major militant leader willing to be an ally," he said.

"If he decides to side with (Pakistan Taliban leader) Hakimullah, thousands of fighters will come to the frontlines against the Pakistani military. It is in our interest to keep him neutral, if not on our side, because then we can direct our resources against anti-state militants with much greater efficiency."

PRAYERS FOR "OUR HERO"

Militants have launched a string of attacks in Pakistan in recent months, including shooting dead 16 aid workers and an attack by multiple suicide bombers on the airport in the northern city of Peshawar.

Residents said the main market in Wana shut down on Thursday to mark Nazir's death. The were calls over loudspeakers for prayers for his soul.

"The tribesmen are very grieved at his death as he was our hero. He had expelled all the foreign militants from our villages and towns and given real freedom to our people," a local shopkeeper in Wana bazaar, Siraj Noor Wazir, said.

Foreign militants, particularly Uzbeks, are disliked in some parts of the Pakistani tribal areas because of their perceived brutality towards civilians.

Nazir was wounded in the market in a bombing in November, widely believed to be a result of his rivalries with other Taliban commanders. Six others were killed in the same attack.

Both the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban draw support from ethnic Pashtuns, who live on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistani border. Rivalry between militant factions often reflects old rivalries between Pashtun tribes.

Shortly after the bombing, Nazir's Wazir tribe told the Mehsud tribe, related to Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud, to leave the area. Hakimullah Mehsud's men frequently target the Pakistani army.

The army has clawed back territory from the Taliban since launching a military offensive in 2009. North Waziristan, along the Afghan border, is now the key Pakistan Taliban stronghold.

Pakistan's ally the United States is eager for it to push further forward into North Waziristan before NATO troops begin drawing down in Afghanistan in 2014 but the military says it needs to consolidate its gains.

Senior U.S. officials have frequently charged that some elements within Pakistan's security services retain ties to some Taliban commanders because they wish to use the Taliban to counter the influence of archrival India.

Four men in a car were killed in North Waziristan in a separate drone strike, local residents said. Their identity was not immediately known.

Intensified U.S. drone strikes have killed many senior Taliban leaders, including the former leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, in 2009.

The strikes dramatically increased when U.S. President Barack Obama took office. There were only five drone strikes in 2007. The number of strikes peaked at 117 in 2010 before declining to 46 last year.

Data collected by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism say that between 2,600-3,404 Pakistanis have been killed by drones, of which 473-889 were reported to be civilians.

Rights groups say that some residents are so afraid of the strikes they don't want to leave their homes.

"People of Wazir tribe are mourning Nazir's death but they are reluctant to attend his funeral because of fears of another drone attack," one resident said.

Civilian casualties are difficult to verify. Foreign journalists must have permission from the military to visit the tribal areas along the Afghan border.

Taliban fighters also often seal off the sites of drone strikes immediately so Pakistani journalists cannot see the victims.

Some Pakistanis say the drone strikes are an infringement of sovereignty and have called for a halt. Others, including some residents of the tribal areas, say they are killing Taliban commanders who have terrorized the local population.

The insecurity will be a key issue in elections scheduled for this spring. The nuclear-armed nation of 180 million has a history of military coups, but these polls should mark the first time one elected civilian government hands power to another.

(Additional reporting by Saud Mehsud in Dera Ismail Khan, Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar, and Mehreen Zahra-Malik and Katharine Houreld in Islamabad; Writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Nick Macfie)

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1 of 6. People walk in front of a logo of Softbank Corp at its branch in Tokyo, in this file picture taken March 2, 2011. Japan's Softbank Corp said on October 12, 2012 that it is in talks with Sprint Nextel Corp about investing in the U.S. telecoms firm, but nothing has been decided.

NEW YORK/TOKYO | Sun Oct 14, 2012 11:13pm EDT

NEW YORK/TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese mobile operator Softbank Corp is near a $20 billion deal to acquire control of U.S. carrier Sprint Nextel Corp, sources familiar with the matter said, as the firm led by billionaire Masayoshi Son seeks a foothold in the U.S. market.

A deal, which the sources said could be announced as early as Monday, would be Japan's biggest overseas buy, and would also give Sprint ammunition to potentially acquire peers and build out its 4G network to compete better in a U.S. wireless market dominated by AT&T and Verizon.

Softbank shares tumbled more than 7 percent early on Monday, and have lost more than a fifth of their value since news first broke of the firm's interest in Sprint. Investors are concerned that Son, who has a reputation for taking risks, may be offering too much.

Under the deal taking shape, the sources said Softbank would buy some $12 billion worth of Sprint shares and spend another $8 billion on new Sprint securities. The Japanese firm would initially buy $3 billion of bonds convertible into Sprint stock at $5.25 a share, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. It would also buy $5 billion in stock directly from Sprint, and offer $7.30 a share for stock it buys in the public markets. Sprint closed on Friday at $5.73.

Sprint, led by CEO Dan Hesse, has net debt of about $15 billion, while Softbank has net debt of about $10 billion. Adding the $2 billion of net debt of eAccess Ltd, which Softbank recently agreed to buy, would raise "post-deal gearing levels to unacceptable heights", Societe Generale said in a client note on Friday.

"It's the same (market) reaction as when Softbank said it was going to buy Vodafone a few years ago. Everyone came out and said it was far too expensive," said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, general manager of investment and research at SMBC Friend Securities.

Softbank acquired Vodafone's Japan unit for $15.5 billion in a landmark deal in 2006 that propelled the firm into the mobile carrier business.

CLEAR FOR CLEARWIRE

Sprint confirmed on Thursday it was in talks with Softbank about an investment that could involve a change in control. If Softbank takes a 70 percent stake of Sprint for $20 billion, that would imply the No. 3 U.S. wireless company was worth about $28.6 billion, some two-thirds greater than its market capitalization at Friday's close.

On Friday, Standard & Poor's put its "BBB" long-term rating on Softbank on 'credit watch with negative implications', saying the deal "may undermine Softbank's financial risk profile" and would pressure its free operating cash flow for at least the next few years.

A tie-up between Sprint and Softbank could see the U.S. firm use some of the proceeds to buy the part of Clearwire Corp it doesn't already own, given that company's attractive spectrum assets, analysts and investors have said. Clearwire stock soared on Friday.

An alliance with Sprint could also give Softbank leverage when dealing with Apple Inc, helping bolster its domestic position against KDDI Corp, which also now offers the iPhone in Japan, and market leader NTT Docomo, which is yet to offer the Apple smartphone.

A Tokyo-based Softbank spokesman reiterated on Monday that the company was in talks about making an investment in Sprint, but no agreement had been reached. Sprint representatives were not immediately available to comment, and a Clearwire spokesman declined to comment. CNBC's David Faber reported the news earlier on Sunday.

Softbank is in talks with Japan's leading banks - Mizuho Financial Group Inc, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group - to borrow up to $23 billion for a deal, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.

The banks involved in the syndicated loan could provide a commitment letter as soon as this week, the sources said.

A deal for Sprint at around the levels mentioned by sources - and including a follow-on deal for MetroPCS - would lift the tally of outbound deals by Japanese firms to a record $80 billion this year, Thomson Reuters data shows, underscoring a strong appetite for overseas assets seemingly unaffected by signs of slowing global growth.

SECOND STEP

With Sprint in hand, Softbank may also look to acquire smaller U.S. carrier MetroPCS Communications, Japanese media have reported. Sprint has had a long interest in MetroPCS, which earlier this month agreed to merge with T-Mobile USA, part of Deutsche Telekom AG.

A takeover of Sprint would require approval from U.S. regulators, including the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission. Given the importance of telecommunications to U.S. national security, any deal would also likely warrant a review by the inter-agency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, according to one Washington-based attorney who advises on mergers and acquisitions

The attorney said that Japan's status as a close U.S. ally would help Softbank win approval for the deal.

($1 = 78.3550 Japanese yen)

(Additional reporting by Sophie Knight, James Topham and Andrea Shalal-Esa.; Editing by Gunna Dickson and Ian Geoghegan)

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The Google logo is seen as Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt speaks at a promotional event for the Nexus 7 tablet in Seoul September 27, 2012.

WASHINGTON | Fri Oct 12, 2012 6:32pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The majority of top decision-makers at the Federal Trade Commission believe that an antitrust case should be brought against Google Inc, meaning the search giant could soon be headed into tough negotiations, three people familiar with the matter said.

Four of the FTC commissioners have become convinced after more than a year of investigation that Google illegally used its dominance of the search market to hurt its rivals, while one commissioner is skeptical, the sources said.

All three declined to be named to protect working relationships.

Two of the sources said a decision on how to proceed could come in late November or early December.

A long list of companies has been complaining to the FTC, arguing that the agency should crack down on Google.

Companies rarely talk publicly about their dealings with the FTC, but consumer reviews website Yelp and comparison shopping website Nextag have both complained about Google during open hearings in Congress.

Google rivals specializing in travel, shopping and entertainment have accused Google, the world's No. 1 search engine, of unfairly giving their web sites low quality rankings in search results to steer Internet users away from their websites and toward Google products that provide similar services.

Computer users are overwhelmingly more likely to click on the top results in any search. The low ranking often forces companies to buy more ads on Google to improve their visibility, one source said.

Google has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Asked about any discussions with the FTC, Google spokeswoman Niki Fenwick said: "We are happy to answer any questions that regulators have about our business." The FTC declined to comment.

During a congressional hearing in September 2011, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt denied that the company manipulated its search results. "May I simply say that I can assure you we've not cooked anything," he told the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust panel.

COMPLAINTS PILE UP

The one source said the FTC commissioners have given weight to other complaints that Google refuses to share data that would allow advertisers and developers to create software to compare the value they get on Google to advertising spending on Microsoft's Bing or Yahoo.

In a related issue, the FTC is looking at Google's handling of valuable patents, which are determined to be essential to smartphones. The agency is trying to determine if they are licensed fairly and whether patent infringement lawsuits are used to hamper innovation.

FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in mid-September that he expected a decision in the case by the end of the year. European regulators are conducting a similar antitrust probe.

If the agency finds that Google broke the law, the FTC and Google could hammer out a settlement that resolves the issues or, if settlement negotiations fail, the matter could end up in a lengthy, expensive court fight.

The FTC announced in April that it had hired high-powered Washington lawyer Beth Wilkinson to lead the probe. The hiring was seen as a sign that the FTC was contemplating filing a lawsuit against Google.

This is not the first run-in that Google has had with the agency.

In August, Google was forced to pay $22.5 million to settle charges it bypassed the privacy settings of customers using Apple Inc's Safari browser. The practice was in violation of a 2011 consent decree with the FTC over a botched rollout of the now defunct social network Buzz.

(Reporting By Diane Bartz; Editing by Karey Wutkowski and Tim Dobbyn)

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NEW YORK | Fri Oct 12, 2012 5:32pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Genworth Financial Inc (GNW.N) plans to sell two of its businesses, including its wealth management business, in an effort to raise capital, according to three sources familiar with the situation.

The Richmond, Virginia-based company wants to sell its Pleasant Hill , California-based wealth asset management business, which has over $20 billion in assets under management and sells its portfolios through about 6,000 third-party advisers around the country.

The sources also said Genworth is looking for a buyer for Altegris, its San Francisco-based alternative investments provider with $3.36 billion in client assets. The sources wished to remain anonymous because they were told about the deal in confidence. Genworth bought Altegris in 2010 for $35 million, plus additional performance-based payments.

Genworth is working with Goldman Sachs & Co (GS.N) as the banker for the deal, said one of the sources, who estimated that if the two businesses were sold together they could be valued at about $400 million.

A Genworth spokesman declined to comment. A Goldman spokeswoman also declined to comment.

A number of private equity investors and potential strategic buyers are looking at the books of the businesses, two of the sources said. It is unclear if both units will be sold to the same buyer, they said.

Genworth, once a part of industrial conglomerate General Electric, is shopping the businesses as it faces increased scrutiny from ratings agencies, largely due to losses in its mortgage business.

On Thursday, Standard & Poor's lowered Genworth's credit rating to BBB- from BBB, putting it just a notch away from junk territory.

Moody's Investors Service Inc has said it is conducting a review for a potential downgrade of the company's senior unsecured debt rating.

Most of Genworth's troubles stem from its U.S. mortgage-guaranty unit, which has accrued about $2 billion in operating losses since 2008, but recently, things have started to look better.

Genworth reported net income of $76 million, or 15 cents per share, in the second quarter, compared with a net loss of $136 million, or 28 cents a share, a year earlier. Net operating losses from the firm's mortgage insurance unit narrowed to $25 million, from $255 million in the comparable period last year.

S&P said it was lowering its rating "to reflect the low earnings level for the organization ... and the difficulty it will face expanding margins globally in the weak economy."

In a statement responding to the S&P downgrade, Genworth said it is "pursuing a number of strategic and financial actions designed to improve returns on capital, simplify our mix of businesses, strengthen capital generation, and increase financial strength and capital flexibility."

The company said it would provide further details about this effort in its third-quarter earnings call on October 31.

In April, the insurer sold its tax and accounting financial adviser unit to California-based Cetera Financial Group.

At the time, the company said the sale would allow it to focus more on "its core turnkey asset management businesses."

Genworth is a Fortune 500 company that sells insurance as well as wealth management services. It bought its turnkey asset management platform, which was called AssetMark Investment Services, in 2006 and merged it with Genworth Financial Asset Management to form Genworth Financial Wealth Management.

Given Genworth's financial situation, it might make sense to offload the wealth management unit because providing turnkey asset management - which involves putting together customized portfolios and handling the back-office functions for financial institutions and advisories - has become increasingly competitive, said Alois Pirker, a research director at Boston-based Aite Group, which studies wealth management trends.

More companies are asking providers to allow them to keep the management of the investments in-house, while having the providers oversee the performance reporting, he said.

This results in less revenue for the providers because they don't collect fees for managing the money, Pirker said.

"It's a tough business to succeed in unless you have the investment dollars," he said.

(Reporting by Jessica Toonkel; editing by John Wallace, Carol Bishopric, Gary Hill)

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* Says no discussions taking place on nationalisation

* Move would have put UK's AAA rating at risk - analysts

* RBS braced for mis-selling IT provisions - Sky News

By Matt Scuffham

LONDON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Britain has no plans to fully nationalise Royal Bank of Scotland, government sources told Reuters on Thursday, contradicting a report in the Financial Times.

The FT said senior government ministers were discussing the possibility of buying out private investors in the bank but sources told Reuters such a move was not on the agenda.

"There is no discussion on the table, there is no proposal, it is just not an active thing we are discussing at the moment at all," one of the sources said.

Mediobanca analysts said a full nationalisation would increase Britain's debt burden in relation to GDP and almost certainly cost the country its AAA credit rating.

"Having seen the taxpayer already suffer through the rescue of RBS, to saddle them with a book of questionable loans in the interests of political expediency is quite frankly ludicrous," they said in a research note.

Britain already owns 82 percent of the bank after bailing it out during the 2008 financial crisis. The remaining 18 percent of the bank is owned by private investors and would need to be bought out at a premium to the current market price. The shares are worth 4.2 billion pounds at Wednesday's closing price.

The FT report said ministers had become exasperated by the barriers they believe banks are placing on lending and some think taking full control of RBS and forcing it to lend could push other banks into action.

The government is under increasing pressure to stimulate the economy which official data has shown to be in a much deeper recession than previously thought.

The latest programme to get banks lending was launched on Wednesday offering banks 80 billion pounds worth of cheap funding on condition they lend it to small firms and households.

RBS reports first-half results on Friday.

Sky News reported that the bank will set aside a further 130 million pounds to compensate customers mis-sold loan insurance, take a hit of 125 million pounds for problems related to a computer systems failure and make a provision of 50 million pounds to settle claims by small firms wrongly sold interest rate hedging products.

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