Bids for ING’s Asia business were due on Friday, May 18 and according to reports, both Samsung Life and Kyobo Life have dropped out of the bidding. It has also been reported that Prudential also did not submit a bid.
This leaves domestic firms, KB Financial Group and Korea Life Insurance Co as well as AIA Group, Sun Life Financial, and Switzerland’s Zurich Insurance Group as possible bidders. Additionally, U.S. PE funds, J.C. Flowers & Co, TPG, and Carlyle Group are also said to be interested in ING’s Japanese business.
According to sources cited by the Chicago Tribune, the bids submitted ranged between 6-7 billion euros. A shortlist of the bidders is expected to be released by the end of May. As the article mentions, if the sale reaches $7 billion, it would make it the largest Asian insurance M&A in history.
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