KB Financial Embraces Prudential Life... Confirms Acquisition in Morning Board Meeting

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] KB Financial Group has acquired Prudential Life Insurance, considered the biggest deal in the M&A market for the first half of this year.

According to financial sources on the 10th, KB Financial held a board meeting this morning and is expected to finalize the acquisition of 100% of Prudential Life Insurance shares held by Prudential International Insurance Holdings, USA.

Earlier, Prudential Financial USA selected KB Financial as the buyer of Prudential Life Insurance through the lead sales agent Goldman Sachs. KB Financial and Prudential Life Insurance USA will finalize the detailed terms and then sign the Stock Purchase Agreement (SPA).

KB Financial succeeded in acquiring Prudential Life Insurance by offering approximately 2.3 trillion KRW, beating out competitors. The final bidding held on the 19th of last month included KB Financial, Hahn & Company, IMM Private Equity (PE), and MBK Partners.

Typically, in the M&A process, a preferred bidder is selected, followed by due diligence and other procedures before signing the SPA. The final price is determined considering potential contingent liabilities during due diligence. However, this time, it is reported that both parties agreed to proceed directly to signing the SPA after negotiations. Nonetheless, depending on detailed criteria such as payment timing, additional price adjustments may occur.

As of the end of last year, Prudential Life Insurance's asset size was 21.0794 trillion KRW, and net assets (capital) were 2.9135 trillion KRW. It recorded a net profit of 140.8 billion KRW last year. When combined with KB Life Insurance (asset size 9.8019 trillion KRW), it will instantly rise into the top 10 in the industry.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.