LONDON, UK: Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has confirmed it is in discussions with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) about a potential acquisition of MYOB.

ANZ and KKR are yet to reach agreement in relation to the acquisition and there is no certainty it will proceed.

MYOB is one of Australia’s leading providers of business management, financial and accounting solutions for SMEs, Enterprise and Accounting Practice customers.

Should the transaction proceed it would be subject to regulatory approvals, including from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the New Zealand Overseas Investments Office.

An acquisition could give the smallest of Australia’s so-called big four lenders a deeper relationship with hundreds of thousands of small businesses in the country where MYOB has been a ubiquitous bookkeeping tool. Customer growth has become a fresh focus for Australia’s major banks and their shareholders.

“MYOB is one of Australia’s leading providers of business management, financial and accounting solutions for SMEs, Enterprise and Accounting Practice customers,” the Australian bank said in the statement.

ANZ has been building up on its balance sheet, partly because the bank is keen to capture new opportunities, its Chief Executive Officer Shayne Elliott said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in May.

Last week, ANZ announced it would sell its A$715 million investment lending portfolio to Bendigo & Adelaide Bank Ltd., while Bloomberg also reported the bank has started exploring a sale of its stake in PT Bank Pan Indonesia.

ANZ will make an announcement to the market if the negotiations are successfully completed and an agreement is entered into.