Sompo Japan Nipponkoa May Buy Stake in France's Scor

TOKYO--Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Holdings Inc. (8630.TO) said it is considering buying a stake in French reinsurance giant Scor SE (SCR.FR), in a deal that could reportedly be worth over $900 million.

The joint holding company that was founded through the consolidation of Sompo Japan and Nipponkoa Insurance in 2010 said in a statement that it would discuss the potential purchase at a board meeting later Friday.

News of the potential deal sent Sompo's shares higher on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. In early trading, the insurer's stock was up 2.7%, outperforming a 0.8% rise in the benchmark Nikkei Stock Average.

Sompo's statement that it was interested in the world's fifth-largest reinsurer comes after a report in Japanese business daily the Nikkei said the company has decided to take a roughly 15% stake in Scor in a bid to strengthen its overseas operations.

The report, citing unnamed sources, also said that Sompo would spend more than Y110 billion ($910 million) to make what would be the Japanese insurer's largest investment ever.

In the statement, Sompo didn't touch on the size of the potential stake buy but said that it would make an announcement as soon as a decision was made.

Earlier this week, Scor, which is listed on Euronext Paris, reported that its net income for 2014 fell to EUR512 million from EUR549 million.

Write to Shawn Schroter at [e-mail]

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