Tokio Marine to Acquire Thai, Indonesian Operations of IAG for $390M
Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. announced on June 19 it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Thailand and Indonesia insurance businesses of Insurance Australia Group Ltd. (IAG) for approximately A$525 million (42.8 billion Yen; $390 million) in cash.
The deal, which mainly involves the acquisition of IAG’s 98.6 percent stake in Safety Insurance Public Company Ltd. (Safety) in Thailand, adds a large book of motor business to Tokio Marine’s existing insurance business in Thailand.
The books are complementary, Tokio Marine said, noting that the Japanese insurer’s core strength in Thailand currently is commercial lines insurance. The combination vaults the Tokio Marine to the position of third largest property/casualty insurer in Thailand, and second-ranked motor insurer—adding gross written premiums of nearly 9.2 billion Thai Bhat ($279 million) to Tokio Marine’s 8.0 billion ($244 million).
Tokio Marine also envisions cross-selling Tokio Marine group companies’ specialty insurance products through Safety’s nationwide distribution channels, and utilizing Safety’s expertise and infrastructure to enhance Tokio Marine Group’s overall claim servicing quality and efficiency in Thailand.
Tokio Marine said it will also acquire IAG’s 80 percent stake in PT Asuransi Parolamas (Parolamas) in Jakarta, Indonesia, gaining a book of premiums amounting to roughly 18 billion Indonesian Rupiah (about $1.3 million).
Having expanded its presence in developed markets through deals like the acquisition of Kiln in 2008 and HCC in 2015, Tokio Marine said it aspires to significantly grow its presence in Asia and other emerging markets, where the current contribution to international business profit is just 10 percent today.
In a separate statement, IAG Managing Director and CEO Peter Harmer said, “We believe Tokio Marine is an ideal owner given its experience in the region, and that this is a good outcome for the associated employees, customers and other stakeholders.”
IAG also announced that it has reached an agreement to sell its 73.07 percent stake in AAA Assurance Corp., based in Vietnam, providing no further details of that deal.
All transactions are expected to conclude in the financial year ended June 30, 2019, subject to regulatory approvals or notifications, IAG said.
Sources: Tokio Marine, Insurance Australia Group
A version of this article first appeared in Insurance Journal’s sister publication, Carrier Management.