(Reuters) - The race to win a bigger slice of Southeast Asia's insurance market is heating up as AIA Group (1299.HK), Manulife (MFC.TO) and Prudential PLC (PRU.L) compete for mid-size acquisitions in the region totalling up to $1 billion (638 million pounds), sources said.
The three insurance groups as well as France's AXA (AXAF.PA) and Canada's Sun Life (SLF.TO) have submitted initial bids for the Malaysian life insurance joint venture between CIMB Group (CIMB.KL) and Aviva (AV.L), a deal estimated to be worth at least $400 million, the sources, who had direct knowledge of the matter, said.
The three insurance groups as well as France's AXA (AXAF.PA) and Canada's Sun Life (SLF.TO) have submitted initial bids for the Malaysian life insurance joint venture between CIMB Group (CIMB.KL) and Aviva (AV.L), a deal estimated to be worth at least $400 million, the sources, who had direct knowledge of the matter, said.
The moves come against the backdrop of a $7 billion auction for ING's (ING.AS) Asian insurance business as some foreign insurers exit the region to focus on their core markets, while some larger ones and new entrants try to gain bigger exposure to Asia.
AIA and Manulife are also in the running for ING's Asian insurance business, while Prudential is seen as a strong contender to buy Thai Thanachart Bank Pcl's TCAP.BK insurance operations in a deal worth about $500 million, sources have said.
Source: Reuters
Source: Reuters
