KB Financial to make final call on ING Life takeover

KB Financial Group was set to decide on Wednesday whether to take over ING Life’s Korean arm from the Dutch insurance giant after some three months of deliberation.

KB Financial, chosen in September as the preferred bidder for a controlling stake in ING Life Korea, was scheduled to make the decision at a meeting of top executives and a board of directors’ meeting Wednesday afternoon.

But the takeover had not been tabled at the board directors’ meeting because some directors disagreed with the proposed price and acquisition timing.

KB Financial, which has high expectations for strengthening its non-banking business through the takeover, lowered the acquisition price from 2.7 trillion won ($2.5 billion) to nearly 2.4 trillion won to win over the board of directors, according to sources.

Some directors, however, were still believed to be against the takeover. The 13-person board includes two standing directors KB Financial chairman Euh Yoon-dae and president Lim Young-rok; two non-standing directors including KB Kookmin Bank president Min Byong-deok; and nine outside directors.

Vaughn Richtor, a non-standing director and chief executive of ING Bank Asia, doesn’t have the right to vote on the acquisition of the insurer. At least seven of the 12 directors must approve of the takeover for it to happen.

If KB Life, Korea’s 15th-largest life insurer, merges with ING Life, it would become the nation’s fifth-largest life insurer, which could pose a threat to the “Big Three” (Samsung, Korea and Kyobo) along with NH Nonghyup Life which launched in March.

“Even if the board reaches a conclusion later this afternoon, the results will be made public tomorrow due to requirements to report to the financial authorities,” said Kim Tae-hyun, a public relations official for KB Financial.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)