China's Anbang resumes overseas push with deal to buy Allianz S.Korean units (updated)

TONGYANG Life Insurance

06/04/2016 08:55

* First Anbang M&A move since retreat from Starwood deal 
    * Anbang has spent billions of dollars in spree so far 
    * Bought S.Korea insurer Tongyang for $978 mln in 2015 
 
 (Adds context on Anbang acquisitions strategy) 
    By Joyce Lee 
    SEOUL, April 6 (Reuters) - China's Anbang Insurance Group 
said on Wednesday it signed a deal to acquire German insurer 
Allianz's  ALVG.DE  South Korean units for an undisclosed sum, 
extending a push that has so far seen it spend billions of 
dollars on overseas assets. 
    The deal extends an overseas acquisitions push that has made 
Anbang, sitting on $253 billion in assets, one of the biggest 
corporate buyers from China in the last few years. After 2015's 
headline-grabbing $1.95 billion purchase of New York's Waldorf 
Astoria Hotel, last month it agreed to buy Strategic Hotels & 
Resorts Inc from Blackstone Group LP  BX.N  for $6.5 billion.  
    But last week the Beijing-based firm retreated from a $14 
billion bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc  HOT.N , 
raising questions about corporate China's appetite for Western 
assets amid jitters over the country's economy. 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N17502S urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N17357E   
    In the latest deal, Anbang will buy Allianz Life Insurance 
Korea and asset management unit Allianz Global Investors Korea, 
the Chinese and German companies said in a joint statement. Last 
year Anbang bought a 63 percent stake in South Korea's Tongyang 
Life Insurance  082640.KS  for 1.1 trillion won.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N0VR1VH 
    Allianz is selling the operations as part of a global 
overhaul in a tough low-interest rate environment. The 
transaction is subject to local regulatory approvals. 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1631E8 
    A South Korean newspaper reported earlier on Wednesday that 
Anbang had agreed to buy Allianz's life insurance unit for about 
250 billion won ($216 million), citing unnamed sources in the 
insurance industry.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N17915S 
    Meanwhile Anbang's purchase of U.S. insurer Fidelity & 
Guaranty Life  FGL.N  for $1.6 billion awaits regulatory 
approval.      
     
($1 = 1,155.6000 won) 
 
 (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell) 
 ((jungyoon.lee@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5609; Reuters 
Messaging: jungyoon.lee.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: ALLIANZ SALE/ANBANG AGREEMENT