DAEHEN FIRE AND MARINE SOLD TO LOTTE

South Korean retail conglomerate Lotte Group has signed a deal under which it will buy a 57% stake in Daehan Fire & Marine for 352.6bn won ($372.3m). Lotte said that the deal would give Lotte a gateway to non-life sales through its retail network. Rumours of the deal were first reported last October ( ID Asia , October 31 2007). The seller of the stake is locally based Daeju Group. M&A speculation has been rife relating to Korea’s mid-tier insurers, with the Capital Market Consolidation Act and a revision of the insurance business act both putting capital under pressure.