Meiji Yasuda in talks for stake in Thai Life insurance: report
Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co is in the final stages of talks to buy a 15-per-cent stake in Thai Life Insurance Co in what would be one of the biggest investments ever in Asia by a Japanese life insurer, according to Kyodo News.
It quoted sources who said that with the planned investment worth about 70 billion yen (Bt21.7 billion), Meiji Yasuda wanted to turn the major Thai insurer into an equity-method affiliate and dispatch executives.
Many foreign firms have reportedly been keen on acquiring minor stakes in Thai Life Insurance. In March, Bloomberg reported that Carlyle Group, CVC Capital Partners and KKR and Co were among firms that had made preliminary offers for minority stakes in the Thai company. Another Japanese insurer, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co, also expressed interest in the holding.
Last November, Prudential, through local unit Prudential Life Assurance (Thailand), bought out Thanachart Life Assurance for US$550 million (Bt17 billion), and established a 15-year partnership deal in Thailand’s bancassurance business with Thanachart Bank, which has more than 4 million customers and more than 630 branches nationwide.
