Great Eastern in talks to buy AmMetLife

Singaporean insurer, Great Eastern is reportedly in talks to buy Metlife’s Malaysian venture.

Great Eastern, a subsidiary of OCBC, is reportedly conducting its due diligence on AmMetLife Insurance and seeking regulatory approval to finalise the deal. The transaction could value AmMetLife, which the US company jointly owned with Kuala Lumpur-listed AMMB Holdings, at US$250 million to US$300 million, according to Bloomberg who were citing insider sources familiar with the matter.

While the talks are ongoing, the matter is still fragile as the deal could still fall through.

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A deal would see Great Eastern prevail in its pursuit of AmMetLife Insurance. The Singaporean firm was interested in acquiring the unit last year, even as Zurich Insurance Group AG had emerged as the frontrunner to buy a majority stake, Bloomberg News reported at the time.

MetLife and AMMB teamed up to form their Malaysian insurance partnership AmMetLife in 2014, its website shows. The parties started exploring a potential divestment of the business in 2020, people familiar with the matter said at the time.

Great Eastern set out to purchase AmMetLife in 2022, where the Singaporean insurance firm was interested in acquiring the unit. However, according to Bloomberg’s reports, Zurich Insurance Group emerged as a frontrunner to take on the majority stake. The Malaysian insurance arm was created in 2014, when Metlife and AMMB joined hands to form the partnership.

The news comes shortly after Great Eastern refreshed its brand positioning following research involving more than 2000 consumers across Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia over the past two years. Its tagline, ‘Reach for Great’, underpinned Great Eastern’s ongoing journey of enhancing customer centricity which was supported by strategic investments in digital transformation efforts.

To signal the brand positioning to customers, the insurer collaborated with Superunion to develop a new visual identity with a distinctive headline typeface, colour strategy and illustration style added to its brand palette. Taking reference from Great Eastern’s first brand logo in the 1900s, the new visuals sport a heritage crest to reflect its establishment as an inspiring and trusted insurance brand in the region.

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