Tower Chairman Olaf O’Duill says that once the company has completed the spin-off of its Australian wealth management arm the New Zealand business will need to grow to avoid becoming a takeover target.

He cited acquisitions and mergers as potential ways of expanding the company, which in its present form is too small to continue.

Tower has received some offers from parties trying to buy the Australian arm. However, Dow Jones Newswires reported Mr O’Duill saying that Tower could wait for it to be a listed company because a sale would reduce its value.