Sompo to focus on integration after flurry of acquisitions
(Reuters) — Sompo Holdings Inc. will place more focus on integrating domestic and overseas operations for further growth after a spell of acquisitions abroad boosted the global presence of Japan's No. 3 nonlife insurer group, a senior executive said.
“We rapidly shifted capital allocations to overseas to secure a foothold in growth markets, with a sense of emergency over a rapidly aging home market,” the group's chief operating officer, Mikio Okumura, told Reuters.
“Now that our nonlife insurance business overseas has grown almost to the size of the domestic business, we no longer have to differentiate strategies for overseas and domestic operations,” he said.
Sompo accelerated its global push through its $6.3 billion acquisition of U.S. property/casualty insurer Endurance Specialty Holdings in 2017, which gave the Japanese company a much-needed U.S. foothold.
It also bought five more companies over the last five years, including U.S. agriculture insurance company Diversified Crop Insurance Services in 2020.
Sompo forecast adjusted consolidated profit of 100 billion yen ($746 million) for the overseas insurance business in the year ended in March. The group's overall adjusted consolidated profit is estimated at 160 billion yen.
Mr. Okumura said he does not see an imminent need for further acquisitions.
“We could achieve organic revenue growth of some tens of billions of yen in a year or two by hiring a team of professionals instead of rushing for more deals,” he said.
