AIA to buy CBA life unit

AIA Group has agreed to buy Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s life insurance business for AUD3.8 billion (USD4.12 billion) in its largest acquisition, making the Hong Kong-based company the largest life insurer in Australia and New Zealand.

AIA will team up with Commonwealth Bank for 20 years under the deal to provide life insurance products to customers in Australia and New Zealand, the lender said in a statement.

Commonwealth Bank also said it is considering a potential spin-off of its global asset management business, Colonial First State, which has AUD219 billion in assets under management.

The deal is the largest acquisition by AIA, at nearly double the size of the insurer’s 2012 purchase of a Malaysian asset held by ING Group, according to a report by Bloomberg.