Japan's Nippon Life has agreed to acquire global life insurance player Resolution Life for around $8.2 billion, according to a company announcement on December 11.
In addition the firm has bought the remaining 20% of MLC Life from National Australia Bank (NAB) and will merge MLC with Resolution Life Australasia for A$500 million ($319 million). Nippon Life had originally bought a 80% stake from NAB in October 2016, and the 20% stake sale is expected to be completed in the second half of 2025.
Resolution Life is a Bermuda-headquartered life insurer with assets in the US, Australia and New Zealand. It also owns Resolution Re which offers life reinsurance to firms in Asia, Europe and the US.
The move, which should be completed in the second half of 2025, marks the Japanese insurer's largest foreign expansion to date as it looks to diversify away from Japan. The firm, also known as Nissay, was founded in 1889 and is headquartered in Osaka.
Resolution Life has grown through acquisition, including buying Suncorp's life insurance arm in New Zealand, Asteron Life, earlier this year for NZ$410 million ($238 million), and last year it bought AIA's Australian superannuation and investment life insurance business. In July 2020, it completed a delayed deal to acquire AMP Life for around A$3 billion ($1.91 billion).
The combination of Resolution Life Australasia and MLC will create the third largest life insurer in Australia with in-force premiums of A$2.714 billion (as of June 2024), of which MLC will contribute A$1.87 billion; the new entity will be called Acenda.
TAL is the largest operator with $6.4 billion of premiums, while AIA controls A$3.244 billion, and Zurich controls A$2.65 billion, according to NMG Consulting Risk Distribution Monitor.
Nippon Life has been one of the largest investors in Resolution Life, including a $1 billion capital injection in January 2023, taking its total to $1.65 billion. Sir Clive Cowdery is the founder and executive chairman of Resolution Life.
Also on December 10 Nippon Life announced it had completed the aquisition of 21.6% of US life insurer and asset manager Corebridge Financial from AIG for $3.838 billion. The deal was originally announced in May.
In addition to Japan, Nippon Life has operations or stakes in operations in the US, India, Myanmar, China, Thailand and Indonesia.
Law firm Ashurst advised Nippon Life on both deals led by partners Natsuko Ogawa and Con Tzerefos.
