DAI-ICHI CONFIRMS IT IS IN TALKS TO BUY A US LIFE INSURER

Japan’s Dai-ichi Life has confirmed that it is weighing an acquisition of a US life insurer following a report by business daily Nikkei that Dai-ichi is about to enter a final stage of talks over a more than $4.87bn purchase of Alabama-based Protective Life. Such a deal would mark the Japanese life assurer’s largest-ever foreign acquisition. In a statement, Koichiro Watanabe, President and Representative Director of Dai-ichi Life said the company is “considering investments in US life insurance companies, however, nothing has been decided with respect to this topic at this point of time.” A source at the company told Reuters that the Japanese insurer is in advanced talks to buy Protective Life Corp. Dai-ichi Life has been seeking growth in overseas markets to counter the saturated Japanese insurance market. It acquired Tower Australia Group for $1.2bn in 2010 and a 40% stake in Indonesia insurer Panin Life of for $337m in 2013.