10 April 2015 Insurance

Asian insurers to drive M&A, says Deloitte

Asian insurers are expected to drive merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in 2015, according to a report by Deloitte.

With M&A expected to continue throughout 2015, Deloitte has predicted that foreign buyers will seek to make a play this year as an improving US economy leads to more growth opportunities despite extended regulatory challenges.

Although in recent years large international insurers have pursued acquisitions in the Latin America and Asia markets, Deloitte believes that a number are now expressing renewed interest in the US.

In 2014, a number of Asian buyers went shopping for US-based companies. Dai-ichi Life Insurance purchased Protective Life Corp for $5.58 billion in June, leveraging the acquisition as an additional source of growth.

The report added that large Chinese and Korean organisations are also looking to acquire both life and P&C insurance companies in the US and elsewhere.

Fosun International’s announced acquisition of Meadowbrook Insurance Group for $433 million is another example of this trend. Some European insurance companies are also evaluating potential acquisitions, although not at the same level as their Asian counterparts, said Deloitte.

The report said that as of December 2, 2014, overall global cross-border M&A was up 45 percent from 2013 and at its highest year-to-date volume since 2008. The US, at 24 percent market share, was the year’s top-targeted nation by both volume and activity for global cross-border M&A.

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