Tokio Marine has $10 billion for potential acquisitions

(Reuters) — Tokio Marine could potentially spend around $10 billion on overseas acquisitions and is patiently tracking public companies around the world, the co-head of the Japanese insurer’s expanding international business told Reuters.

Tokio Marine’s international business has grown to more than 50% of the company’s profits, compared with less than 3% 20 years ago, with its most recent large acquisitions in the U.S. market.

“Something we could do relatively easily would be in the $10 billion range,” Chris Williams, co-head of Tokio Marine’s international business, said in an interview Monday.

“North America is the biggest insurance market in the world. There are going to be opportunities there; there are opportunities in Asia and Europe, Canada and Australia,” Mr. Williams said. “We have aspirations to grow our business in all of those locations.”

Japanese insurers have historically pursued overseas investments to mitigate negative interest rates and stubborn deflation at home.

Mr. Williams did not give a timeline but said the insurer was “very patient” in its hunt for good quality businesses, which could be “bolt-on” or large deals.

“We track all the public companies you’d expect around the world,” he said. “Our strategy when we look at these businesses is to say, ‘What’s been the flight path, what are the results … over a period of time?’”

Tokio Marine bought U.S. insurer HCC Insurance Holdings Inc. in 2015 for $7.5 billion, and more recent purchases include U.S. insurer Pure Group in 2020 for $3.1 billion.