Nippon Life in talks to buy Resolution Life in deal worth $8.2bn

Tokyo — Nippon Life Insurance is in the final stages of buyout talks with US life insurer Resolution Life Group Holdings, Resolution said on Tuesday, in what would reportedly be a $8.2bn deal that highlights Japanese insurers’ hunt for growth in the world’s biggest economy.

The acquisition, which was first reported by the Nikkei business daily, would be worth about $8.2bn, the newspaper said. If the deal goes ahead, it will be the largest ever foreign acquisition by a Japanese insurer.

Nippon Life will purchase the shares it does not already own in Resolution Life from Blackstone and others to make it a wholly owned subsidiary in the second half of 2025 and will pay for the acquisition with cash on hand, the Nikkei said.

The deal is the latest example of heavyweight Japanese insurance companies going abroad in search of acquisitions in faster-growing markets, given the limited chance for expansion at home where the population is shrinking and ageing.

Bermuda-based Resolution Life confirmed it was in talks about the acquisition but added that these had not concluded and there was no certainty that a transaction would proceed.

A spokesperson for Nippon Life said the company was in talks with Resolution Life, but added it could not disclose what the discussions were about.

Blackstone declined to comment on the Nikkei report.

The acquisition would mark Nippon Life’s second major overseas investment this year, after its $3.8bn purchase of a 20% stake in US insurance firm Corebridge Financial in May.

It has also sought to diversify its domestic business, buying nursing care provider Nichii Holdings for $1.4bn in November last year, but it has lagged other Japanese insurers in US acquisitions.

Property and casualty insurer Tokio Marine Holdings bought speciality insurer HCC Insurance Holdings for $7.5bn in 2015, paid $2.7bn in 2011 for Delphi Financial and bought Philadelphia Consolidated for $4.7bn in 2008.

Cross-border M&A involving Japanese companies has surged this year, driven by amended guidelines designed to encourage takeovers of Japanese firms.

Japanese firms are also continuing to look abroad for growth as their domestic market shrinks.

Resolution Life is a closed-book insurer that purchases existing insurance policies from insurers in the US and other countries.

Nippon Life has built up a 23% stake in the firm since 2019, spending a total of $1.68bn thus far, the Nikkei said.

Reuters