《TAIPEI TIMES》 E.Sun, Mercuries Life agree on merger
E.Sun Financial Holding Co chairman Joseph Huang, left, and Mercuries Life Insurance Co chairman George Wong attend a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
EXPANSION: The deal must next be approved by both firms’ shareholders as well as government regulators, and would make E.Sun Taiwan’s fifth-largest holding company
By Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter
E.Sun Financial Holding Co （玉山金控） and Mercuries Life Insurance Co （三商美邦人壽） yesterday approved a merger to be carried out entirely through a share-swap deal, as the bank-focused conglomerate expands into life insurance to become Taiwan’s fifth-largest financial group by assets.
Under the agreement, 0.2486 E.Sun Financial shares would be exchanged for each Mercuries Life share, E.Sun Financial senior vice president Stanley Lin （林俊佑） told a media briefing at the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
The company would issue new shares to Mercuries Life shareholders and acquire 100 percent of the insurer, Lin said.
Following completion, Mercuries Life’s 91,000 domestic and foreign shareholders would hold about 8.31 percent of E.Sun Financial’s equity, with the transaction valued at approximately NT$8.2 per Mercuries Life share.
“The addition of a life insurance unit marks a key milestone in expanding the group’s footprint,” E.Sun Financial chairman Joseph Huang （黃男州） told a news conference in Taipei later yesterday.
The move would broaden the company’s asset base and market presence, and help build an integrated financial ecosystem spanning banking, life insurance, securities and asset management, he said.
The transaction would lift the company’s total assets above NT$5.8 trillion （US$187.37 billion）, making it Taiwan’s fifth-largest listed financial holding company.
The firm aims to develop three primary revenue engines across banking, insurance and securities, Huang said.
The companies plan to integrate investment and research teams following the merger to enhance portfolio efficiency and boost group-wide returns, he added.
E.Sun Financial has formed a task force of more than 50 members and engaged external advisers to conduct due diligence and determine the offer terms, Huang said.
“The process is intended to ensure fairness and support manageable future operations,” he said.
Huang described Mercuries Life — founded in 1993 and now Taiwan’s seventh-largest insurer, with NT$1.6 trillion in assets and 11,000 employees — as a strong strategic fit aligned with the group’s long-term growth strategy.
Both companies plan to hold extraordinary shareholders’ meetings in January to approve the deal and address employee retention and benefits. The merger is subject to regulatory approval.
The deal follows E.Sun Financial’s acquisition in July of a 91.2 percent stake in PGIM Securities Investment Trust Enterprise Co （保德信投信）, a subsidiary of US-based Prudential Financial Inc.
E.Sun Financial has posted a compound annual asset growth rate of 10 percent over the past decade, with earnings reaching record highs.
The group reported NT$29.3 billion in net profit in the first 10 months of this year, up 31 percent from a year earlier, while flagship unit E.Sun Commercial Bank Ltd （玉山銀行） earned NT$28.3 billion, up 35 percent year-on-year.