Postponing the decisions on the rivalry offerings to next month, Australia's competition regulator on Wednesday said that it will find out further information on rival $13 billion (US$11.7 billion) takeover bids by Wealth Manager AMP and National Australia Bank for AXA Asia Pacific Holdings. A final decision is expected by March 17 following both the proposals by February 26 as said in a media release by the regulator.

Interested parties have been called upon by the regulator before the final decision next month but termed the NAB takeover as "higher level of concern" over concentration of retail investment and could also be potentially more damaging for regional banks.

The regulator said, "That a takeover by either party would concentrate the market for financial planning and advice and potentially hurt competition, but is unlikely to pose competitive concerns in pension or life insurance markets".

Point for consideration can also be that how likely it is for a stand-alone AMP to remain an effective competitor or become a takeover target itself or if it could come up as "fifth-pillar" in financial services if it is offered success.