China’s Anbang Insurance Group could enter Japan in its first real estate foray in the country if its USD1 billion bid for Japanese property asset manager Simplex Investment Advisors yield positive result.
Reuters reported, quoted unnamed sources, that Anbang, China’s biggest offshore buyers of financial insitutions, has officially made its bid to acquire Simplex.
Analysts, however, said that it could not be very easy for Anbang to acquire the Japanese asset manager because other big investors are also seeking to acquire Simplex.
Anbang’s competitors include US investment Fortress Investment Group, Blackstone Group, and Elliot Management, Reuters reported.
Sources said the outcome remains uncertain for Anbang because of the number of competitors.
Simplex and Anbang declined to comment on the report.
Last month, Anbang received the approval from China’s insurance regulator for its takeover of Dutch state-owned insurer Vivat.
With the approval, Anbang will pay a symbolic EUR1 for the insurer, although it will pay Dutch bank SNS Reaal, the former parent of Vivat, EUR85m (USD95.6m) and another EUR1.35bn (USD1.48bn) in capital injection within three months, Reuters said.
The Dutch government said in a statement that the takeover is now definitive following the Chinese insurance regulator’s approval.
Gerard van Olphen will become the chief executive of Vivat.
He will step down as SNS Reaal Chief Executive to take on the new position.
Anbang Group earlier announced that its acquisition of the Dutch Insurer is an important step for its globalization strategy.
Vivat will further strengthen Anbang’s insurance network in the Euro zone, the Chinese insurer said. – BusinessNewsAsia.com