Sumitomo Life nears deal for $3 billion Singaporean insurer
By Manuel Baigorri, Elffie Chew and Nao Sano
(Bloomberg) — Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. is nearing a deal to buy TPG Inc.’s stake in Singapore Life Holdings Pte as the Japanese insurer seeks to bolster its presence in Southeast Asia, according to people familiar with the matter.
The companies are hammering out the details of a transaction that could value the closely held Singaporean insurer known Singlife at S$4 billion ($3 billion) to S$5 billion, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. Other minority investors may also tag along on the disposal, which would allow Osaka-based Sumitomo Life to wholly own Singlife, the people said.
Talks are at an advanced stage and a deal could be announced as early as Friday, the people said. A representative for Sumitomo Life didn’t have an immediate comment, while TPG didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
TPG had been working with a financial adviser on the potential sale of its 35% stake in Singlife, Bloomberg News reported last month.
Sumitomo Life last month increased its stake in Singlife to 27% from 23.2% by buying S$180 million of new shares. Sumitomo in September also agreed to buy the 25.9% stake in Singlife held by UK-based Aviva Plc for S$900 million. Singapore is a key market within its growth strategy in southeast Asia, the Japanese insurer said at the time. That deal is pending regulatory approval.
Established in 1907, closely held Sumitomo Life had about 35.2 trillion yen in total assets as of the end of March, according to its website. It counted more than 44,400 employees.
Singlife traces its roots back to an insurer founded in 2014, which later teamed up with TPG and Sumitomo to buy a majority stake in Aviva’s Singaporean business in 2020 for about S$2.7 billion.
Singlife is the exclusive insurance provider for the city-state’s Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs, and Public Officers Group Insurance Scheme. It had total assets of S$14.4 billion and gross premiums of S$3.5 billion at the end of 2022, according to a September press release.
Founded in 1992, Fort Worth, Texas-based TPG is an alternative asset manager with about $212 billion in assets under management, according to its website. Its investing strategy includes private equity, credit and real estate among others.
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