이 기사는 2020년 02월 14일 08시00분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

Taiwan’s Fubon Financial Holdings, which reportedly didn’t participate in a deal to acquire 100 percent of Prudential Life Insurance Company of Korea, turned out to be one of the potential buyers, currently conducting due diligence on the life insurer.

According to industry sources on February 11, three private equity firms including MBK Partners, Hahn & Company, and IMM Private Equity and two strategic investors including KB Financial Group and Fubon Financial Holdings are currently reviewing the acquisition of Prudential Life Insurance’s management rights. Among strategic investors, KB Financial and Fubon Financial are conducting due diligence, led by Deloitte Anjin and Samil PwC, respectively.

According to people familiar with the matter, Fubon Financial, which entered the domestic financial market via Fubon Hyundai Life Insurance, is looking into the life insurer in a bid to enhance its competitiveness in the life insurance industry.

In 2015, Fubon Life Insurance of the Taiwan group entered the Korean insurance market by taking a 48 percent stake in Fubon Hyundai Life Insurance, formerly Hyundai Life Insurance. It increased the holding to 62 percent in 2018 with the purchase of new shares and became the largest shareholder of Fubon Hyundai Life Insurance.

“Each bidder is conducting due diligence while looking for a partner to form a consortium. Potential buyers are fiercely seeking to spot competitors’ strategies before the final round of bid,” said an investment banking (IB) industry source.

Some say that the market has to wait and see whether Fubon Financial is a genuine potential buyer. Fubon Financial, which has constantly appeared in the domestic M&A market to acquire financial institutions, ended up walking away from some deals. For example, Fubon Financial entered into a deal to acquire Lotte Non-Life Insurance last year, but it dropped the final bid. In the meanwhile, the company acquired a minority stake (4%) in Woori Financial Group from Woori Bank.

Potential buyers have been conducting due diligence ahead of management presentation starting next week. They are expected to submit binding offers in final round of auction which is scheduled for mid-March.

Founded in 1989, Prudential Life Insurance has been put up for sale by its parent company Prudential Financial. The insurer took 2.2 percent market share based on assets as of the end of 2019, with 19.51 trillion won in total assets as of the end of March of 2019. Safe haven assets like cash and public bonds account for 87.6 percent of the life insurer’s total assets, much higher than the industry average of 50.5 percent.

(By reporter Rho Arrum)