Prudential Signs $753M Thai Deal Li’s FWD

Prudential, the UK insurer besieged by activist investor Third Point, has agreed to acquire a bancassurance partnership in Thailand from FWD Group in a 24.5 billion baht (US$753 million) deal.

Prudential’s Thai unit will buy the exclusive rights from FWD to sell life insurance products through TMB Bank, the Thai lender said in an exchange filing on Thursday, confirming an earlier Bloomberg report. The initial term for the partnership is 15 years and Prudential will pay in two installments, with 12 billion baht (US$368.3 million) due next month, according to a separate statement by the UK insurer.

TMB, backed by ING Groep NV, had been exploring options for its existing bancassurance partnerships following a planned merger with Thanachart Bank that will create the country’s sixth-largest lender. Alternatives included renewing the partnership with FWD or finding a new partner, Bloomberg News reported in November.

For FWD, a sale of its partnership with TMB would ease potential antitrust concerns after the Hong Kong-based company last year agreed to pay about US$3 billion for the life insurance operations of Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank in its biggest acquisition.

Full Content: Bloomberg

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