U.S. life insurer Metlife Inc (MET.N) has drawn three bidders for its Taiwan unit and is expected to seal a deal by as early as April, a source with direct knowledge of the situation said on Tuesday. Taiwan's Chinatrust Financial (2891.TW), Yuanta Financial (2885.TW) and Mercuries Life Insurance, a unit of retailer Mercuries (2905.TW), have started due diligence, said the source, who asked for anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. The planned sale would mark the latest exit by a foreign firm from Taiwan's saturated insurance market after American International Group (AIG.N) sealed a deal in January to sell its Nan Shan Life unit. This would be Metlife's second attempt to sell the unit, a small player in the $52 billion local market. An earlier sale was blocked by Taiwan regulators in October, in part due to concern about the financial structure of the buyer, local firm Waterland Financial (2889.TW).
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