When a group of potential buyers circled money manager TCW Group Inc. over the last year, several had a particular business in common: insurance. MetLife Inc. and Germany’s Munich Re were among the firms that showed interest in purchasing the TCW stake from Carlyle Group, according to people familiar with the matter. Another insurer, Japan’s Nippon Life Insurance Co., emerged as the winning bidder for just under 25% of the bond specialist last month. ...
Life insurers are circling US asset managers as a way to make up for lost income from declining life insurance sales. Last year saw a record number of deals with 16 deals representing $1.04bn. In 2018, 14 deals accounted for $165m. Insurers are particularly keen to acquire expertise in fixed-income with most already managing bond portfolios in order to pay claims. Bankers are saying they expect US bond managers to pursue sales in 2016. Among US insurers, Prudential and MetLife are both said to be interested in making acquisitions to bolster the number of retirement assets they manage.