TAL, a subsidiary of Dai-ichi Life Holdings, has signed an agreement to acquire a 15.1% stake (104,353,125 issued shares) in fund manager and retirement solutions provider Challenger for Y80bn ($547.3m).
The deal equates to a price of Y763 per share, a 53% premium over Challenger’s closing share price on 4 April 2025.
Completion of the transaction is contingent on regulatory approvals, including those from the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.
Concurrently, Masahiko Kobayashi will step down from his position as MS&AD’s representative on the Challenger board.
Challenger managing director and CEO Nick Hamilton said: “Dai-ichi Life is a global leader in life insurance and we look forward to building a relationship that will benefit both our customers and shareholders. We welcome their significant investment in our business and will explore future opportunities that support our strategic objectives.
“The strategic reinsurance relationship in place with MS Primary since 2016 has created significant shared value and we are pleased this will continue. This is an exciting time for Challenger as we deliver our growth strategy and provide financial confidence to even more Australians in retirement.”
Challenger’s business relationship with Mitsui Sumitomo Primary Life Insurance Company (MS Primary), another subsidiary of MS&AD, remains unaffected by this development.
Last year, Challenger and MS Primary renewed their reinsurance partnership, which continues to perform well above the minimum volume levels, for an additional five years.
The partnership has been ongoing for more than a decade and is expected to continue independently of the share sale.
The sale follows a pattern of shareholding changes in Challenger, with Apollo Global Management reducing its stake from 20.1% to 9.9% in September 2024.
This divestment had previously made MS&AD the largest shareholder in the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)-listed company until the current agreement.
