Global law firm Ashurst has advised Nippon Life on the completion of its acquisition of Resolution Life. This follows the announcement in December 2024 that Nippon Life would be consolidating its ownership interest by acquiring the remaining shares from Resolution Life's investment limited partnership, at a valuation of $10.6 billion - a transaction for which Ashurst acted as the lead Australian legal adviser on the initial acquisition agreement.
Nippon Life is Japan's largest life insurance company by revenue and consists of multiple group companies operating life insurance and asset management businesses globally, including in Europe, the US, Asia, and Australia. Resolution Life is a global life insurance group focusing on reinsurance and the acquisition and ongoing management of portfolios of life insurance policies.
Partner Natsuko Ogawa said:
"Congratulations to Nippon Life on the successful completion of its acquisition of Resolution Life, a milestone transaction that marks a new chapter for both organisations. This complex, cross-border deal demonstrates the growing scale and sophistication of M&A activity between Japan and Australia, highlighting the importance of global strategic partnerships.
Achieving this result required seamless collaboration across Ashurst's network, drawing on multidisciplinary expertise from our Legal, Risk Advisory, and Ashurst Advance teams. Our unified approach highlights the firm's ability to deliver comprehensive, innovative, and client-focused solutions on the most significant and challenging transactions worldwide."
The Ashurst legal team was led by partners Natsuko Ogawa and Con Tzerefos, who were assisted by: partners Rehana Box and Miriam Kleiner, senior associates Shojeeb Alam, Alex McLeish, Zach McLoughlin and Alexandra Nash and associates Ayumi Shimada, Cameron Huson, Jeremy Waite, Huiling Mah, Wrijoy Chowdhury, Phoebe Phan, Emma LeFevre, Vien Siu, Kevin Wu and Amy Huang (Corporate Transactions); partners Ross Zaurrini and Tihana Zuk, counsel Rowan Kendall, senior associates Kailun Ji, Veronica Murdoch and Candice Upfold, and associate Aroon Parthasarathy (Competition); partners Lorraine Hui, James Clarke, counsel Judy Reid, senior associate Dario Aloe, and associates Georgia Couter, Sarah Phillips, Patrick Ryan, Caitlin Terrey and Caitlin Kalaja (Dispute resolution); partner Jane Harvey, counsel Emilie Maddox, and associates Elizabeth Melsom and Molly Pearse (Employment); partners Emma Butler and Andrew Craig, counsel Caroline Hogan, senior associate Erin Kirker, and associate Yii Huei Phang (Digital economy transactions); partner Kellech Smith and associates Giulia Falvo, Nikola Cinque and Leah Alysandratos (IP/Media); partner Jason Cornwall-Jones, senior associate Jake Saccardo and Jack Kelly, and associate Alexandra Hewett (Real Estate); partner Campbell Johnston and senior associate Nathan Hansen-Thorpe (Global Loans); partner Caroline Smart (Global markets); partner Hong-Viet Nguyen and senior associate Kim Yen Nguyen (Finance regulatory); partner Ian Kellock (Tax); senior associate Charles Chiu (Global markets); associate Dina Sabeta (Planning, Access and Environment).
The Ashurst Risk Advisory team was led by partner Philip Hardy, who was assisted by: partners Chris Baker, John Macpherson, Sonia Haque-Vatcher, Elena Lambros, Steven Blackburn, Jonathan Perkinson, Avideep Agarwal, Gwladys Ngo Tedga Yagla and Kat Conner, directors Andy Abeya, John Moore, Nayeem Mahmud, Michael Duggan, Kieran Francis, Khoon Leng Cheng, and Andrew Karam, executives Hasitha Perera, Ashley Davison, Meg Whelan, Chandni Dave, Joseph Seliong, Jonathan Chan, Sanjay Vinoharan, Vanessa Noakes, Lauren Soon, Cathy Kim, Fiona Yau, and Flora Zhang.
The Ashurst Advance team was led by director Anthony O'Connor, who was assisted by: counsel Gaby Stach, senior associate Marta McCormack, associates Claudia Wyer, Vanessa Mylrea and Niall Skelton, senior manager Lara Peralta, Stefanie Bligh and Craig Morris, and managers, Josh Williams, and Jane Zhao.
