SINGAPORE, 05 January 2024 – Leading domestic financial services provider Singapore Life Holdings Pte Ltd (“Singlife”) recently revealed that Sumitomo Life Insurance Company (“Sumitomo Life”), one of its significant shareholders, has signed a legally binding contract to acquire all of TPG’s shares of Singlife. Since 2020, TPG has made investments in Singlife and now holds about 35% of the business. In addition, Sumitomo Life plans to make a bid to purchase all of the remaining stockholders’ shares.
Sumitomo Life will own all of Singlife if all of the offers are accepted. Singlife is valued at S$4.6 billion in this deal, making it one of the biggest insurance deals in Southeast Asia to date. The agreement follows the first announcement on September 13, 2023, of Sumitomo Life’s acquisition of Aviva plc’s Singlife shareholding.
The transactions are pending regulatory clearances in Singapore and Japan and are anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2024. Sumitomo Life, which made its initial investment in Singlife in 2019, views Singapore as a crucial component of its Southeast Asia strategy and anticipates that the agreement will boost the profits of its portfolio of foreign businesses. Customers won’t be impacted because it doesn’t aim to alter how Singlife runs in any manner, including its name, brand, management group, or operational procedures. Sumitomo Life wholeheartedly endorses Singlife’s strategies and its long-term goals for expansion in Singapore and the surrounding area.
Singlife Chairman, Ray Ferguson said: “This has been an incredible journey for Singlife. We have grown from a small insurtech startup to become a key player in Singapore’s insurance and financial services industry. We are very pleased that the shareholders have reached an agreement which will solidify Singlife’s ambitions in Southeast Asia. As a subsidiary of Sumitomo Life, we will have access to capital, a nimble shareholding structure, and be at the centre of a strategic plan to provide financial planning solutions for consumers in Southeast Asia.”
Commenting on the agreement, Sumitomo Life President & CEO, Yukinori Takada said: “I am very pleased as this is a strategic, long-term investment that will help Sumitomo Life grow in Southeast Asia. Singlife has been steadily expanding on the strength of its digital enabled business with a wide range of products and sales channels. We have had a very good relationship with the Singlife management team and want to support their growth.”
Singlife Group CEO, Pearlyn Phau said: “I would like to assure all partners, customers and staff that Singlife will stay true to its vision, mission and values. We’ve had great conversations with Sumitomo Life over the past year. They are committed, long-term investors and they do not want to change the way we operate. They are fully behind our business strategies and plans. We agree that we will continue to focus first on our customers, to continually build better solutions to help them and their families achieve financial freedom.”
Singlife is one of the top six insurers in Singapore based on total assets of S$14.4b as at 31 December 2022.