Great Eastern to buy Malaysia insurance business from AMMB, MetLife for $352m

Singapore insurer Great Eastern Holdings said on Monday that it agreed to buy Malaysian insurance businesses jointly owned by AMMB Holdings Berhad and MetLife International for RM1.21 billion (S$352 million).

Under the deal, Great Eastern, a unit of OCBC Bank, will buy AmMetLife Insurance and AmMetLife Takaful, the company said in a statement.

The deal also involves an exclusive 20-year distribution partnership for its life insurance and family Takaful products via the distribution network of AMMB’s banking subsidiaries, Great Eastern said.

In early August, AMMB had announced the start of preliminary discussions with Great Eastern related to the acquisition.

The deal is subject to regulatory approvals from Bank Negara Malaysia, along with the Finance Ministry of Malaysia and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.