(January 24 – 17:45 ET) – Manulife Century, the Japanese subsidiary of Manulife Financial has signed a definitive agreement with the administrators of Daihyaku Mutual Life Insurance Company of Japan to acquire 1.5 million life insurance contracts from Daihyaku.

The completion of the transfer of policies is scheduled for April 2, 2001 and is subject to several conditions, including regulatory approval and approval by Daihyaku’s policyholders.

“The financial misfortunes of Daihyaku made this a very difficult transaction,” said Dominic D’Alessandro, president and CEO. “All parties contributed to help contain the ultimate burden to the policyholders. In the end, we believe the definitive agreement was negotiated on terms that are acceptable to all constituents.”

Manulife Century has been servicing the policies of Daihyaku since its inception nearly two years ago. “We know our policyholders have been anxiously looking forward to a resolution,” said David Horman, president and CEO of Manulife Century.

“Our sales representatives and employees at Manulife Century are committed to providing our new Daihyaku clients with uninterrupted service and access to Manulife Century’s full line of financial protection products. We will continue to leverage our expertise from other markets to create new products for the Japanese consumer.”
-IE Staff