Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company, Tokyo, Japan, (President: Kenji Matsuo, “Meiji Yasuda Life”) and Talanx AG, Hannover, Germany, (CEO: Herbert K. Haas, “Talanx”) have signed on 4 November definitive agreements on a strategic alliance consisting of capital and business alliances. The primary objective of this strategic alliance is to exploit joint business opportunities in the increasingly globalized insurance markets in order for both companies to pursue sustainable growth.
Meiji Yasuda Life has been aiming to strengthen its overseas business in order to enhance its growth and diversify its business portfolio, while it enjoys the strong business platform in the Japanese life insurance market. Talanx is planning to further grow its primary insurance business in selected markets with emphasis, among others, on Central and Eastern Europe. Talanx is also aiming to expand its existing industrial business in Japan.
The capital alliance consists of a convertible perpetual subordinated bond in the principal amount of 300 million euros which has been issued by Talanx and acquired and held by Meiji Yasuda Life. The perpetual subordinated bond has been structured to comply with the latest Solvency II advice for Tier 1 capital treatment and, in the case of an IPO of Talanx, it will be converted into common stocks of Talanx AG. After the IPO, Meiji Yasuda Life will be an important shareholder of Talanx.
The business alliance of identifying and realizing joint business opportunities will be carried out through Talanx’s subsidiary HDI-Gerling International, the intermediate holding company for the primary insurance business outside Germany. Meiji Yasuda Life and Talanx will pursue joint business opportunities globally, including an establishment of joint ventures between the two companies, through the Steering Committee consisting of senior management officers from both companies. The Steering Committee will play a role in supervising and accelerating the strategic alliance. Meiji Yasuda Life will nominate two out of six Supervisory Board members of HDI-Gerling International and will dispatch several employees to Talanx.
A Linklaters team led by Dr Wolfgang Krauel (Corporate/Insurance, Munich), Dr Florian Drinhausen (Corporate, Frankfurt), Peter Waltz (Capital Markets, Frankfurt) and Jiro Toyokawa (Corporate, Tokyo) advised Meiji Yasuda Life comprehensively in the context of this strategic alliance.
Further team members were Astrid Keinath, Cornelius Bader (both Corporate, Frankfurt), Beate Stüve-Brammen, Erik Rosenhäger (both Corporate/Insurance, Munich), Dr Frederik Winter (Regulatory, Frankfurt), Dirk Eisel (Capital Markets, Frankfurt), Stephan Krampe (Tax, Frankfurt), Dr Michael Tepass, Dorit Beeken, Henrik Lüthge (all Employment, Frankfurt) and Kiyoshi Endo (Corporate, Tokyo).
