Malaysia's AMMB Holdings will sell a 51 percent stake in its insurance arm AmLife Insurance for 812 million ringgit ($249 million) to U.S. insurer Metlife Inc, the Asian lender said in a statement on Thursday. "With MetLife's global expertise, best-in-class capabilities, innovative products and services, we will materialise the full growth potential of our life insurance and takaful businesses," AMMB's group managing director Ashok Ramamurthy said in the statement.Manulife Financial Corp and Zurich Insurance Group were among the other suitors to submit first round offers for the life insurance unit, as global and regional insurers descend on Southeast Asia for acquisition opportunities.Asia-Pacific M&A in the insurance sector reached a record$30.5 billion worth of deals last year, driven by activity in places such as Malaysia and Thailand.AMMB will retain a part share in AmLife and fifty-one percent of AmFamily Takaful Berhad. The deal is subject to regulatory approval from the central bank and Malaysia's finance ministry.
MetLife, Inc. (MetLife) is a provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs, serving 90 million customers in over 50 countries. Shares of MET traded higher by 2.29% or $1.16/share to $51.90. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $32.00 and as high as $53.11. On average, 6215330 shares of MET exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 12798966.
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