Nippon Life to buy Resolution Life for $8.2 billion

Bermuda-based Resolution Life is to be bought by its single largest shareholder Nippon Life in a transaction valuing the life re/insurer at more than $10 billion. 

Nippon Life will pay $8.2 billion to buy the shares it did not already own, the companies said. Resolution Life will continue to operate under its own brand, as will its subsidiaries Resolution Re and Resolution Life US. 

They said Resolution Life  Australasia and Nippon Life’s Australian company, MLC, will be merged to form a new entity called Acenda which will be run as a joint venture between Resolution and Nippon Life. 

Nippon Life invested in Resolution Life in 2019 and has been its largest single investor. Resolution Life has over $85 billion with more than 4 million policies. 

Resolution Life said the transaction would secure its position in the global life and annuity consolidation sector, adding: “Having a single well-capitalised parent will enable Resolution Life to accelerate its growth and continue to serve the needs of policyholders and the broader life insurance industry. 

“For Nippon Life, this transaction is a further step towards achieving their stated medium-term plan to grow their international business and deliver long-term growth and stable dividends from overseas markets. 

“It will enhance Nippon Life’s product offering as well as expanding the application of asset management, liability management and digital skills by leveraging Resolution Life’s existing capabilities, including a highly experienced global team.”

“For 22 years, Resolution Life and prior Resolution companies have raised our capital from institutional investors and the public markets,” said Sir Clive Cowdery, founder and executive chairman of Resolution Life. “ I am delighted that we are now going forward under the single ownership and capital support of Nippon Life, an institution I admire and respect. There is a strong foundation of shared values, clarity of vision and breadth of capabilities across our organisations.

“Combining Resolution Life’s strengths, the investment management expertise of our partners at Blackstone and a well-funded parent gives us the opportunity to accelerate our growth and serve the needs of policyholders into the decades ahead.”

“As a mutual company owned by our policyholders, Nippon Life has always had a culture which puts customers at the heart of everything we do,” said Hiroshi Shimizu, president of Nippon Life. “We believe the acquisition of Resolution Life and the formation of Acenda demonstrates our commitment to working with exceptional businesses and teams to deliver innovative products and services.  

“We are aligned with Resolution Life and our investment management partner Blackstone in continuing to deliver on the trust policyholders have placed in us to protect them and their families when they need us.”

Blackstone, which agreed a strategic partnership with Resolution Life in 2023 and participated in a $3 billion capital raise along with Nippon Life and others in 2023, will continue to manage Resolution Life’s investments across private credit, real estate and asset-based-finance markets. Blackstone also has three directors on Resolution Life’s board. 

“We are very pleased with this outcome for Resolution Life’s policyholders and investors,” said Gilles Dellaert, global head of Blackstone Credit and Insurance. “Clive Cowdery has built a tremendous insurance platform, and we believe that this expanded partnership with the world-class team at Nippon Life will help drive its accelerated global growth. 

“We look forward to continuing to deliver the benefits of Blackstone’s leading private credit and asset origination capabilities to Resolution Life and its policyholders in this next chapter with Nippon Life.”

It appeared that Resolution Life will continue to be regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority. 

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and anticipated to be completed in the first half of 2025. 

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