Hana Financial Group Emerges as KDB Life’s Acquisition Preferred Bidder

Hana Financial Group has been chosen as the preferred bidder for acquiring KDB Life Insurance. The state-owned Korea Development Bank (KDB) announced on Thursday, July 13, that it picked the said insurance firm after looking into many factors and confirming the company's eligibility as a bidder.

KDB also considered the probability of Hana Financial Group completing the acquisition deal. After a thorough review, it decided to choose the Seoul-based financial holding company as the preferred bidder.

The Korea Times reported that Hana Financial participated in the bidding that officially closed late last week. A due diligence was then scheduled for KDB to decide, and the result was released on Thursday this week.

2010 the state-owned bank purchased KDB Life Insurance by forming a private equity fund with Consus Asset. This happened when the Kumho Group, which previously owned the insurance company, struggled due to a liquidity crunch.

Moreover, in 2020, KDB picked JC Partners as the preferred bidder, and soon afterward, a stock sale deal was signed in 2021. However, the deal went up in smoke after the financial authority discerned that JC Partners did not have all the qualifications to buy the life insurance firm.

On the other hand, Hana Financial Group is now seen as a strong candidate that may acquire KDB Life since the agreement is expected to boost its competitiveness in the non-banking business sector.

"If the deal succeeds, KDB Life will have the foundation for stable growth by starting fresh as a member of Hana Financial Group," KDB said in a statement. "The bidding closed on July 7 and the company has been selected as the preferred bidder based on its eligibility, the likelihood of the deal going through and KDB Life Insurance's mid to long-term growth potential."

Korea Joongang Daily further quoted the financial group as saying, "Korea Development Bank will do its best to close the deal successfully by closely cooperating with Hana Financial Group." It added that if the acquisition is finalized and completed, the company will "set a foundation for KDB Life Insurance to be guaranteed stable future growth as a member of Hana Financial Group that possesses an extensive individual financial network."

Photo by: Hana Financial Group PR Center