Nippon Life has officially finalised the merger of Resolution Life Group and MLC Life Insurance, launching Acenda, a new brand focused on the Australian and New Zealand life insurance markets.
The final completion of the merger follows Nippon’s acquisition of Resolution Life, which includes the remaining 20% stake in MLC Life from the National Australia Bank (NAB). The deal, first announced in December 2024, was reportedly valued at US$8.2bn.
Satoshi Asahi, President of Nippon Life, highlighted that the move strengthens the firm’s position in the Australasian market and supports its goal of expanding operations globally. “We will strive to make the Acenda Group a leader in the local markets, focused on long-term growth and delivering trusted protection and security to more people,” Asahi said.
Over the past year, Acenda announced key appointments to its leadership team, starting with Accenture’s Chris de Bruin as the new chief executive, alongside four independent non-executive Directors, Catherine Dubé, David Stephen, Melissa Babbage, and Rosheen Garnon. In July, it also appointed Yvonne Le Bas as Group Chief Financial Officer and Karen Malzard as Chief Risk Officer.
Other members of the group leadership roster unveiled were Sean McCormack as Chief Commercial Officer, John Lucey as Chief Investment Officer, Peter Histon as Chief Information Officer, Andrew Beevors as Claims and Innovation Officer, Lisa Hayes as General Counsel, and Nupur Bhushan as Chief People Officer.
Commenting on the completion of the transaction, de Bruin said, “As a combined group, we are a stronger, growth-focused business, with the scale and stability to meet the evolving needs of our customers.”
“We are focused on delivering on our promises to customers during the transition with no change to customer policies or their ability to make a claim,” he added.
The combined entity will serve approximately 2 million customers, combining MLC Life’s customer-centric claims philosophy and health initiatives and Resolution Life’s digital capabilities and retirement product expertise. In addition, NAB will provide contingent Tier 2 capital support to Acenda for a period of three years post-completion.
