Prudential, Generali and Manulife lined up for $900m buy
UK life insurer Prudential, Italian insurer Assicurazioni Generali, and Canadian life insurer Manulife are the preferred bidders for AIG’s $800m -$900m (£557m - £626m) Philippine life insurance unit, reports Bloomberg.
Final offers are due Feb. 23. “AIG’s business in the Philippines is one of the most recognisable brands in the country,” said Rafael Garchitorena, Manila-based analyst at Deutsche Bank. “Buying the franchise can jumpstart anybody’s attempts to expand their business. You will instantaneously be number one.”
Bidding teams, according to Bloomberg
- Generali, Europe’s third-largest insurer, has teamed up with Banco de Oro Unibank, the biggest lender in the Philippines by assets, and Malaysia’s Kuok Group.
- Prudential, Britain’s second-biggest insurer by market value, has joined Bank of the Philippine Islands.
- “We love all of Asia, and we love Japan,” said Manulife chief investment officer Donald Guloien, who will become chief executive officer in May, in response to a Bloomberg query about the company’s bid for AIG’s Philippine assets.
