Nippon Life to buy Resolution in largest Japan insurance deal
The deal will be funded by cash and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2025, pending regulatory approvals
NIPPON Life Insurance agreed to buy Resolution Life Group for about US$8.2 billion, the biggest takeover by a Japanese insurer as it seeks to grow beyond the domestic market.
Japanese life insurers are renewing their appetite for acquisitions at home and abroad after a lull following a string of multibillion-dollar deals a decade ago. Nippon Life, the nation’s largest insurer by assets, is trying to diversify its profit drivers as the local market faces demographic challenges that are hindering growth prospects.
Nippon Life will buy the 77 per cent of Resolution that it does not own, the Japanese company said in a statement on Wednesday (Dec 11). The deal will be funded by cash and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2025, pending regulatory approvals.
It will also purchase a 20 per cent stake in its Australian unit, MLC, from National Australia Bank for about A$500 million (S$426.8 million) to make it a wholly owned subsidiary, which it plans to merge with its Resolution Australasian arm.
Formed in 2003 by chairman Clive Cowdery, Resolution acquires and manages portfolios of life insurance policies. It invests the assets and makes payouts when there are claims, or policies mature. The Bermuda-based company has operations in markets including the UK, the US, Australia and New Zealand.
“We wanted to have a company that will become the core of our overseas operations in the world’s largest life insurance market,” Nippon Life president Hiroshi Shimizu said at a news briefing, referring to the US.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Blackstone is among the shareholders selling stakes in Resolution, though they will continue their strategic partnership. The alternative asset manager has had a role investing the insurer’s assets in areas including private credit, real estate and asset-backed finance.
The deal comes on the heels of another large investment abroad by Nippon Life, which completed the acquisition of a 21 per cent stake in Houston-based Corebridge Financial for US$3.8 billion from American International Group this week.
Nippon Life has long been the subject of speculation as a buyer of multibillion-dollar assets in the US, where rival Japanese insurers have made big acquisitions. Dai-ichi Life struck a deal in 2014 to buy Protective Life for more than US$5 billion. Sumitomo Life Insurance and Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance also acquired US insurers around that time.
Shimizu has said Nippon Life is looking to make large investments in major markets such as the US. The company reiterated on Wednesday that it has set aside two trillion yen (S$17.7 billion) as a war chest for its current midterm plan until the end of 2026.
In total, it envisions four trillion yen in growth investment until end-2035, with roughly half to be spent on insurance businesses abroad, 25 per cent on overseas asset managers, and 25 per cent at home.
To diversify its domestic business, Nippon Life acquired nursing and child care provider Nichii for 210 billion yen earlier this year.
Nippon Life has already flagged interest in buying asset managers in the US and elsewhere. The company has about a 27 per cent stake in Los Angeles-based TCW Group, and Shimizu said increasing its holding is an option for boosting its asset management business.
“We want to keep looking for opportunities in asset management and domestic businesses and make timely investments,” he said. BLOOMBERG
Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services
