Richard Li’s FWD pays record US$3 billion for life insurance unit of Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank
- The deal is the largest insurance takeover in Southeast Asia in terms of value
- Insurer has spent US$3.76 billion in eight acquisitions across Asia over the past five years, in preparation for an IPO in Singapore or Hong Kong, analysts say
FWD Group, the insurance unit of Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li Tzar-kai’s Pacific Century Group, has agreed to buy SCB Life Assurance, the life insurance business of Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank, for 92.7 billion Thai baht (US$3 billion), reflecting the largest insurance deal in Southeast Asia in terms of value.
Li is the younger son of Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong’s richest businessman.
The deal, signed on July 1, is the latest in a string of mergers and acquisitions by FWD across Asia. It comes just three days after FWD announced an agreement to buy MetLife’s Hong Kong business.
The Siam Commercial Bank said it has signed a binding share sale agreement with FWD for the sale of its entire stake in SCB Life Assurance.
As part of the deal, the two parties agreed to establish a long-term partnership for the distribution of insurance products. Under this arrangement, FWD’s life insurance products will be made available to Siam Commercial Bank’s customers in Thailand for 15 years.