Nippon Life to acquire Resolution Life

Nippon Life, Japan's leading life insurer, is set to become the sole shareholder of Resolution Life, raising its stake to 100% of the company's capital.

Nippon Life already owns 23% of this Bermuda-based international group, which specializes mainly in reinsurance. The Japanese insurer first invested in Resolution Life's capital in 2019.

The transaction is valued at 8.2 billion USD.

Under the terms of the transaction, Resolution Life's operations in the USA, Bermuda, the UK and Singapore will now become subsidiaries of Nippon Life.

Resolution Life's Australian operations will be combined with Nippon Life's Australian subsidiary MLC to form a new life insurance company called Acenda.

Pending regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to be finalized in the second half of 2025.

This initiative is in line with the Japanese insurer's strategy to step up its international presence, particularly in the US market.

This new acquisition is the largest ever made by a Japanese insurance company abroad, and the second major transaction announced by Nippon Life this year. On 9 December 2024, Nippon Life completed the acquisition of a 21.6% stake in Corebridge from American International Group (AIG) for 3.8 billion USD.

Overseas development is a major challenge for Japanese insurers, as growth prospects in Japan are limited due to the country's ageing population and demographic decline.