Singlife and Aviva complete Singapore's largest insurance deal at S$3.2bn

A new entity named Aviva Singlife Holdings will now hold the Singlife and Aviva Singapore legal entities, which will continue to operate independently until the scheme of transfer of the Singlife business to Aviva Singapore is approved by the Singapore courts and completed. Thereafter, the new combined business will be named Aviva Singlife Pte. Ltd ("Aviva Singlife").

The transaction announced on 11 September 2020 is one of the region's largest insurance deals and the largest in Singapore, valuing Aviva Singlife at S$3.2 billion. The combination of two of the fastest growing insurance companies in Singapore marks the creation of a Southeast Asian homegrown savings and protection company.

Current Singlife chairman, Ray Ferguson, has been appointed chairman of Aviva Singlife Holdings, while Singlife Group CEO Walter de Oude is appointed as deputy chairman of Aviva Singlife Holdings. Current Aviva Singapore CEO Nishit Majmudar will be named CEO of Aviva Singlife upon approval of the scheme of transfer by the Singapore courts.

Ray Ferguson, chairman of Aviva Singlife Holdings said, "This milestone marks the establishment of a well-capitalised financial holding company, ready to bring change to the insurance industry in Singapore. We look forward to harnessing the best that Singlife brings in technology and Aviva Singapore in quality advice for the benefit of Singaporeans and the region." The completed transaction follows a landmark issuance of SGD 550m Reg S Only 10.25NC5.25 Tier 2 notes from Aviva Singlife Holdings at 3.375% to outstanding investor demand, with the final order book exceeding S$3.5 billion—a cover of more than 6.3x.

Nishit Majmudar, CEO of Aviva Singapore said, "Aviva has a long history of building trust with people in Singapore and delivering quality advice. With the outstanding support of new investors and partners, and advanced mobile-first capabilities in Aviva Singlife, we will continue building on our customer-centric approach and bring quality savings and protection products to Singapore and beyond." Standard Chartered Bank, Moelis & Company and J.P. Morgan acted as financial advisers throughout the transaction, while Norton Rose Fulbright, Latham & Watkins, Slaughter & May, TSMP, and Law Asia provided legal advice to the parties.

Walter de Oude, Deputy Chairman, Aviva Singlife Holdings said, "This deal was made possible with deep collaboration and commitment between all our partners to see a new breed of financial services emerge in a unique and challenging time. We hope to be an example for other entities that are determined to bring positive change to their industries, undeterred by the circumstances."

Source: International Investment