Acquisition-hungry Anbang Insurance Group is rebounding from its failed takeover bid of Starwood Hotels & Resorts with ease.
On Tuesday night, the Beijing-based carrier announced it had signed an agreement to buy
Allianz’s South Korean life insurance unit for $215.79 million. Executives of Anbang,
Allianz and Anbang-controlled Tongyang Life Insurance now plan to visit local financial regulators to explain the agreement.
If all goes according to plan, Anbang will own and control Allianz Life Insurance Korea and asset management firm Allianz Global Investors Korea.
Allianz had put the unit up for sale as part of a global overhaul to counteract the global low-interest rate environment. The new deal will expand the company’s presence in Sout Korea, following its purchase of a 63% stake in Tongyang last year for $949 million.
The South Korean business will have more than 1,000 employees and 1.2 million customers, adding premiums of about $1.9 billion to Anbang’s books.
The move comes amid an expansive campaign by Anbang to expand out of China, which has seen the insurer spend billions of dollars on overseas assets. This latest acquisition is the first since it unexpectedly withdrew from a $14 billion bid for Starwood last week.
In the US, Anbang has grabbed headlines with its $1.95 billion purchase of New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel and agreed last month to buy Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. from Blackstone Group for $6.5 billion.
It is also awaiting regulatory approval for its purchase of US insurer Fidelity & Guaranty Life for $1.6 billion.
This latest acquisition is South Korea is also subject to local regulatory approvals, which are expected to take up to six months.
