TCW in Talks to Buy Stake in Yasuda Kasai

TCW Group Inc., a Los Angeles-based mutual fund management firm, is in talks to buy at least 30% of Tokyo-based Yasuda Kasai Global Asset Management Ltd. for an undisclosed amount, said a source familiar with the negotiations. TCW, the parent of Trust Co. of the West, has been looking since mid-1997 for a way to enter Japan’s $3.5-trillion fund management market, the world’s second-largest after the U.S. TCW oversees about $53.5 billion in assets and Yasuda oversees $10 billion. TCW and Yasuda would probably team up to broaden the level of asset management services for Japanese pension plans and corporations, the source said. TCW’s expected agreement with Yasuda is part of an increasing trend among U.S. financial firms that are competing to gain a slice of Japan’s $10 trillion of household savings.