Berkshire Hathaway Inc. will invest 287.4 billion yen ($1.8 billion) in insurer Tokio Marine Holdings Inc., ramping up the US conglomerate’s exposure to the Japanese market.
National Indemnity Company, a subsidiary of Berkshire, will make a 2.49% strategic investment in Tokio Marine, according to a statement Monday. The two companies will collaborate on reinsurance and global investments including mergers and acquisitions.
The move underscores Berkshire’s growing ambitions in Japan, where around six years ago — under the leadership of Warren Buffett — it revealed it had invested in the country’s largest trading houses. Buffett said in an annual letter to shareholders that the firm was looking to raise ownership in Japan’s five largest trading houses “over time.”
The latest deal shows Berkshire is eager to win a slice of Japan’s thriving insurance business, an increasingly attractive market for foreign firms. KKR & Co., Apollo Global Management Inc. and other big international players have made moves to expand in the life insurance sector, joining a rush among foreign firms to tap rising opportunities in Japan.
“The partnership with Berkshire is likely to provide an advantage by leveraging global expertise to expand the scope of operations ahead of others,” said Ikuo Mitsui, a fund manager at Aizawa Securities Co.
Tokio Marine is Japan’s largest property and casualty insurance company.
The deal means that Tokio Marine can use National Indemnity as an option for reinsurance without restriction on the type of insurance, said spokesman Mitsuhiro Izu, adding that the initiative for the partnership came from Berkshire’s side.
The partnership will last for a decade, and in the first five years both Berkshire and Tokio Marine will not be able to enter into similar agreements with competitors, Izu added.
Berkshire will buy around $1.8 billion of treasury stock held by Tokio Marine, which the Japanese firm will then match by buying back the same amount of existing shares. If Berkshire buys any more of the firm’s stock, it is likely to do so in the open market, Tokio Marine said in its statement.
The US firm said it will not raise its stake above 9.9% without approval from Tokio Marine’s board.
Berkshire’s increasing interest in Japan as an investment venue has been accompanied by a fundraising push in the country. Late last year, the US firm raised just over 210 billion yen ($1.3 billion) by issuing yen-denominated bonds, returning to a market it first tapped in 2019.
Buffett officially retired from his role leading Berkshire as chief executive at the end of 2025. His successor Greg Abel has vowed to keep intact the principles and values that helped the Oracle of Omaha turn a failing textile factory into a $1 trillion conglomerate.
Photograph: Signage for Tokio Marine Group outside the Tokiwabashi Tower building, which houses the Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. headquarters, in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024. Photo credit: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg
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