Life insurer Axa Asia Pacific Holdings (Axa APH) and National Australia Bank (NAB) have agreed on a second deadline extension as negotiations for the acquisition of the former’s Australian and NZ business continues.

Both parties have until August 31 to satisfy the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) the deal will not be anti-competitive.

The commission knocked back NAB’s original $13.3 billion proposal on the grounds that it would result in “a substantial lessening of competition in the market for retail investment platforms for investors with complex investment needs”.

NAB and Axa APH have also extended an exclusivity agreement on the deal until January 31.

Both parties are pushing the sale of Axa APH’s North investment platform as a potential circuit-breaker, but ACCC Chairman Graeme Samuel says the platform can’t simply be offloaded and must be sold to a party that can provide “real competition”.

Under a North divestment plan, investment manager IOOF would purchase the platform to alleviate the ACCC’s concerns.

The deadline for NAB and Axa APH to cement a deal was originally extended in March to July 15.