Reuters
Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co has agreed to pay about $700 million to buy a 15 percent stake Thai Life Insurance Co, underscoring the rising appetite of Japanese companies for deals in the rapidly expanding economies of Southeast.
* Deal expected to close by end 2013
* Thai Life among nation’s top three life insurers
* Deal is fourth Japanese financial sector deal in SE Asia in 2013
Meiji Yasuda’s purchase will make it the fourth financial services acquisition by a Japanese firm in Southeast Asia this year, bringing the year-to-date total value of Japanese M&A deals in the region to about $6.6 billion.
Rising personal income in Southeast Asia is giving, for the first time in many cases, individuals and families the ability to afford insurance. That new demand has boosted stock prices and corporate valuations, culminating in a spate of M&A transactions.