Morgan Stanley has rebuffed Investa Office Fund's approach to participate in the sale of the arm that provides property and asset management services for the portfolio.
Morgan Stanley is trying to exit the $9 billion real estate giant Investa Property Group, which it took over in 2007, shortly before the global financial crisis broke.
An independent board has been set up to guide the complex sales process, which includes divestment of the Investa Office Management platform, the arm that provides services for the ASX-listed IOF.
Last month Morgan Staley advised that it had sold another part of the group, Investa Property Trust, to the China Investment Corporation, which lobbed a $2.5 billion bid for the portfolio of office towers.
Morgan Stanley has also told the independent board it was forging ahead with the sale of Investa Office Management, and gave the board presentations from a short-list of groups seeking to acquire the management platform.
When the board asked if Investa Office Fund could join the sales process, Morgan Stanley said it would not entertain an offer, IOF said in a statement to the ASX today.
Morgan Stanley has previously said that neither IOF or Investa Commercial Property Fund could join the sale to avoid perceived conflicts of interest.