At the beginning of 2022, AIA Group Ltd confirmed it was mulling over selling some of its life insurance assets in Australia as part of its strategy to streamline its portfolio. It named Resolution Life the likeliest buyer for policies related to the acquisition of Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s (CBA) life insurance business in 2017.
Advised by Deutsche Bank, Resolution Life finally made a move by entering into an agreement with AIA to acquire its superannuation & investments business. It expects the move to deliver significant value and scale benefits, strengthen its position as the largest insurer by assets in Australasia, and increase its funds under management and administration by more than AU$8 billion.
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Resolution Life Group entered the Australasian market in 2020. Since then, the group has invested over AU$1 billion in transforming and growing its Australasian platform.
Resolution Life Australasia CEO Megan Beer said the acquisition demonstrates the life insurer’s commitment to the Australasian market and its success in growing its business in the region. If the deal pushes through, AIA’s customers will join Resolution Life’s existing 1.1 million Australasian customer base.
“Our business is driven by our dedicated customer focus and by growing through strategic acquisition. This acquisition will provide us with significant scale and means that the customer benefits we have started to realise through our digitisation and transformation programs will extend to AIA Australia’s superannuation & investments customers,” Beer said.
“We look forward to welcoming all of AIA Australia’s superannuation & investments employees that support the business, as well as their customers, once the acquisition has been finalised.”
The acquisition of AIA’s superannuation & investments business is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close within 12 to 18 months. Under the terms of the agreement, AIA will continue to provide transitional services for up to eighteen months after the close.
