Legal & General sells US protection arm for £1.8 billion
- Legal & General has reached an agreement to sell its US protection unit for £1.8 billion.
- Meiji Yasuda plans to acquire a 5% stake in Legal & General as part of the transaction.
- The deal aims to enhance focus on core businesses and is expected to benefit shareholders.
In February 2025, Legal & General, a London-listed firm primarily involved in life insurance and pensions, finalized a deal to divest its US protection business to Japanese firm Meiji Yasuda for £1.8 billion. The transaction intends to enhance efficiency within Legal & General, reflecting its long-term strategies following a decline in share prices over the previous three years. Meiji Yasuda aims to strengthen its foothold in the US life insurance market while concurrently deepening its partnership with Legal & General. The two firms plan to finalize the transaction towards the end of 2025, pending regulatory approvals. Legal & General anticipates utilizing around £400 million from this transaction to support its pension risk transfer (PRT) collaboration with Meiji Yasuda. Antonio Simoes, the group chief executive of Legal & General, posed the deal as a transformative move that not only aligns with the company's strategic direction but also signifies its commitment towards sustainable growth and shareholder value enhancement. The expected return of approximately £1 billion to shareholders, following the deal closure, is pitched as supportive of boosting investor confidence in the firm’s prospects. Meanwhile, Meiji Yasuda's president, Hideki Nagashima, emphasized the strategic significance of the acquisition, asserting that it is pivotal for accelerating their growth ambitions in international markets. The acquisition also aligns with a broader trend of increasing collaborations between Japanese firms seeking expansion in overseas markets and Western counterparts looking to streamline operations given the repetitive market fluctuations in recent years.