Canada’s Sun Life Financial is reportedly among companies bidding to acquire Hong Kong-based FTLife Insurance Co from Chinese financial firm JD Group.
The proposed deal is expected to value FTLife Insurance at more than $3bn; Bloomberg reported quoting sources familiar with the development.
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Apart from Sun Life Financial, other suitors include the Hong Kong conglomerate Chow Tai Fook (Holding) and Asian private equity firm PAG, sources told the publication.
PAG has been engaged in negotiations with investment funds including Singapore sovereign fund GIC Pte to submit a potential joint offer.
JD Capital has urged the competing suitors to submit their offer in second-round bids within the next couple weeks.
Sources further told the news agency that no final decisions have yet been made. The competing bidders may decide against submitting offers, while other suitors could still emerge.
The deal is part of JD Group’s ongoing restructuring plan. It comes at a time when the Chinese government has been cracking down on aggressive overseas investments by privately-owned financial holding firms.
In 2015, JD Capital acquired Belgian insurer Ageas’s Hong Kong Life insurance business in a transaction worth $1.38bn.
The acquired business Ageas Insurance Company (Asia) Limited was renamed as FTLife following the completion of the deal.
