The Singapore government has stepped in to stop a proposed acquisition worth S$2.2 billion (US$1.68 billion) by German insurance giant Allianz of the city state’s home-grown Income Insurance, following public outcry after the move was first announced in July.
It was doing so out of concerns over the “structure and terms of the deal”, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in a Facebook post while earlier in the day, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) Edwin Tong said the government was concerned about Income’s ability to continue with its social mission.
In his post, Wong said: “Though this transaction will not proceed, we remain open to a new deal that Income may pursue with Allianz or other partners, so long as our concerns are fully addressed.”
The halting of the deal comes months after the public and several prominent Singaporeans voiced concerns about the nature of the deal, feedback that the government took seriously, said analysts, and was a factor in their decision.
Income, which started off as a social enterprise and has had a long-standing objective to provide affordable insurance to Singapore, was corporatised in 2022.
In July, Allianz announced it would offer S$40.58 per share for a 51 per cent stake in Income Insurance in a deal worth S$2.2 billion, which triggered widespread unhappiness, with many raising concerns about whether Income would be able to carry out its social mission.