U.S insurer Ace Ltd will buy Malaysia’s Jerneh Asia’s insurance business for an undisclosed sum, as reported on Tuesday. The Business Times newspaper said Ace made an internal announcement on the acquisition of Jerneh Insurance. Jerneh owns 80 percent of the general insurer and Paramount Corp controls the rest.
“Ace is hotly tipped to be the new owner of Jerneh Insurance. The company has been keen to invest in Malaysia for some time,” Business Times quoted an industry source as saying.
Jerneh was not immediately available for comment but its shares along with those of Paramount were suspended from trade on Monday pending a material announcement.
Ace joins Japan’s Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co and Prudential which have either taken up or are in talks for stakes in Malaysian insurers after the government raised foreign shareholding limits in these local companies.
Local media had earlier said Italy’s Assicurazioni Generali SpA, HSBC and South Korea’s Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance were among the bidders for Jerneh Insurance, which was put up for sale last year.
