FWD revives acquisition talks

FWD Group, backed by billionaire Richard Li, has revived talks about a potential acquisition of the life insurance operations of Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank Pcl after a two-year hiatus.

Siam Commercial reached a preliminary pact with FWD on a potential life-insurance partnership, the lender said in a recent Bangkok exchange filing. A deal would see FWD acquire Siam Commercial’s life insurance unit and sign a long-term distribution agreement with the lender, according to the filing.

FWD and Siam Commercial have entered into exclusive negotiations to finalise terms of a transaction, the filing shows. The business could be valued at around USD3 billion, informed sources said. A deal at that price would be the biggest-ever acquisition of an insurer in Southeast Asia, according to Bloomberg.