Osaka-based Nippon Life will buy Bermuda-based insurer Resolution Life in the largest takeover ever by a Japanese insurer.
Nippon Life will acquire all the shares it does not own in Resolution Life for about $8.2 billion, according to a statement. The Japanese insurer currently holds a 23 percent stake in Resolution Life and plans to make it a wholly owned subsidiary in the second half of 2025. The deal values the Bermuda-based insurer at $10.6 billion.
As part of the deal, Nippon Life will also acquire the remaining 20 percent stake it does not own in MLC Life from National Australia Bank for about A$500 million ($320 million). MLC will then be merged with Resolution Life Australasia to form a new primary life insurer called Acenda.
US Market
The deal is expected to help Nippon Life further expand its efforts to pursue growth in the US market. Earlier this week, it closed the purchase of a 21.6 percent stake in US insurance firm Corebridge Financial for $3.8 billion.
Resolution Life was established seven years ago as a closed-book insurer that purchases existing insurance policies from insurers in the US and other countries. According to Nippon Life, it has $85 billion of assets under management and 4.3 million policies.
Following the latest transaction, Resolution Life will continue to be led by Clive Cowdery as chairman and CEO.
