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Samsung insurers weigh large deals with Canopius and Principal Financial
The proposed transactions together are valued at about $5.8 billion to $6.6 billion, depending on exchange rates and deal stage, with Samsung Fire also seeking to buy out the rest of its Lloyd's specialty carrier stake.
Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance is in talks to buy full control of Canopius, the London-headquartered Lloyd's specialty (re)insurer, while sister company Samsung Life Insurance is negotiating to take an approximately 15% stake in Principal Financial Group, according to South Korean financial media reports compiled by Insurance Business.
Insurance Business reports the combined value of the two acquisitions is somewhere between $5.8 billion and $6.6 billion, with the wide range attributed to early, unconfirmed deal status and differing won-to-dollar conversions. Neither Samsung Fire nor Samsung Life has publicly confirmed final agreements, and Principal has not commented publicly on the reports.
For the US market, the Principal Financial stake would be a notable ownership shift for the retirement and asset management firm. PFG, led by chair, president and CEO Deanna Strable, is one of the three largest recordkeepers in the US 401(k) market and serves tens of millions of retirement plan participants.
Samsung Fire has already built its position in Canopius, holding a stake since 2019 and increasing it to 40% last year in a $570 million deal with Fidentia Fortuna Holdings, the vehicle for a shareholder group led by Centerbridge Partners. Korea Economic Daily and Seoul Economic Daily now say Samsung Fire is negotiating to buy out the remaining roughly 60% of the business.