Peter Grey

Nippon Life Insurance Company (Nippon Life), a leading global provider of life insurance and asset management, has announced the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Resolution Life.

On completion of this transaction, MLC Life Insurance and Resolution Life’s Australasian subsidiary, Resolution Life Australasia, will merge to create one of Australia’s largest life insurance businesses, to be known as Acenda.

Serving around 2 million customers and partners, Acenda will focus on growth and remain open to new business. The combined customer base will offer scale and stability to ensure Acenda will be able to meet the evolving needs of Australians.

This will include leveraging MLC Life Insurance’s ‘best in claims’ philosophy and award winning Vivo health and wellness offering, alongside Resolution Life’s advanced digital solutions and retirement product suite to continue to meet the changing needs of our customers.

Nippon Life will also acquire the 20% share of MLC Life Insurance that National Australia Bank (NAB) has retained since 2016, when Nippon Life acquired the 80% stake in MLC Life Insurance. As a part of the transaction, NAB has agreed to provide, for a period of 3 years post completion, an amount of contingent Tier 2 capital support to Acenda.

Mr Hiroshi Shimizu, Nippon Life President said the deal aligns with the company’s intentions to continue to grow in the Australian life insurance industry and emphasised the merger’s benefits for Australian consumers.

“This merger demonstrates our commitment to delivering innovative products, exceptional service, and leading customer experiences in the Australian life insurance market.

“As a mutual company owned by our policyholders, Nippon Life has always had a culture which puts customers at the heart of everything we do. Acenda, as part of the global Nippon Group, will continue to build on the “customer first” philosophy innate to a mutual.

“As we combine to serve around 2 million customers, we believe our customer-oriented approach will continue to deliver on the trust Australians have placed in us to protect them and their families, and deliver on our promise to be there when they need us,” Mr Shimizu said.

Peter Grey, Chair of MLC Life Insurance, said that the substantial investment shows the continued commitment of Nippon Life to the Australian life insurance market.

“This merger will ensure that our business’s great products and services will remain on sale and enable us to develop even better offerings to meet the future changing needs of our customers and partners.

“We look forward to a future of growth and innovation as Acenda. While MLC Life Insurance will have a new brand, and become part of a larger group, we will continue to build on our 138-year Australian heritage with the same commitments to our customers and partners. Together with Resolution Life Australasia we will continue to put customers at the heart of everything we do.”

“In line with these commitments, our first priority is to ensure good experiences for customers and partners during the transition. We have commenced this work and will be communicating with our customers and partners directly and would like to thank them for their ongoing commitment to us,” Mr Grey said.

The transaction is set to be completed in the second half of the 2025 calendar year, subject to regulatory approvals. Resolution Life Australasia was established in 2020, following Resolution Life’s acquisition of AMP Life. MLC Life Insurance will begin adopting the Acenda brand immediately, and Resolution Life Australasia will transition to Acenda after the transaction’s completion. Until completion, the two businesses will continue to operate separately.

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