Nippon Life Insurance Announces Acquisition of Resolution Life
Nippon Life Insurance, Japan’s largest insurer, is set to acquire the remaining shares of Resolution Life Group Holdings for approximately $8.2 billion. This all-cash transaction is aimed at strengthening Nippon Life’s presence in the U.S. market.
The logo of Nippon Life Insurance Co. is displayed at the company’s headquarters in Tokyo.
This marks the largest overseas acquisition to date for a Japanese insurer and the second significant deal announced by Nippon Life this year. Japanese insurance companies are increasingly looking to expand internationally due to the limited growth potential in their domestic market, which is facing an aging and shrinking population.
“For some time we have wanted to own a business that could be core in the largest global insurance market – the U.S.A,” explained Hiroshi Shimizu, Nippon Life’s president, during a press conference on Wednesday. “Resolution is an excellent company in a market that will grow so we want to secure its potential.”
Nippon Life currently holds around 23% of Resolution Life, which is based in Bermuda, and plans to make it a wholly-owned subsidiary in the second half of 2025. The deal values Resolution Life, which is backed by various investors including Blackstone, at $10.6 billion. Clive Cowdery will continue to serve as Chairman and CEO of Resolution Life.
As part of the agreement, Nippon Life will also acquire the remaining 20% stake it doesn’t own in MLC Life from National Australia Bank for approximately A$500 million ($320 million). This stake will be merged with Resolution Life Australasia to create Acenda, a new primary life insurer.
Nippon Life, which has been slower than its domestic peers in making U.S. acquisitions, recently finalized the purchase of a 21.6% stake in U.S. insurance firm Corebridge Financial for $3.8 billion. In November of last year, the company also sought to diversify its domestic business by buying nursing care provider Nichii Holdings for $1.4 billion.
Nippon Life has established global expansion as a key strategic priority for this and the next financial year. The company aims to double its group core operating profit to about 1.4 trillion yen by 2035.
Resolution Life, established seven years ago, is a closed-book insurer that acquires existing insurance policies from other insurers in various countries, including the U.S. According to Nippon Life, the company holds $85 billion in assets under management and manages 4.3 million policies.
Blackstone, which has been Resolution Life’s investment management partner for directly originated assets like private credit and real estate, will maintain the partnership after Nippon Life’s takeover.
Within Japan’s insurance sector, Tokio Marine Holdings, a property and casualty insurer, has been particularly active in mergers and acquisitions. In 2015, it acquired specialty insurer HCC Insurance Holdings for $7.5 billion, followed by the purchase of Delphi Financial for $2.7 billion in 2011, and Philadelphia Consolidated for $4.7 billion in 2008.
Cross-border mergers and acquisitions involving Japanese companies have seen a surge in activity this year.
