Insurance deals boost '10 mergers and acquisitions

MetLife Inc.'s US$15.5 billion deal Monday to buy AIG's American Life Insurance Co., or Alico, brought the total value of dealmaking globally this year to US$500.3 billion. That was up 21 percent from the year-ago period, according to data collected by deal-tracking firm Dealogic.

The transaction is the fifth-largest deal globally so far this year, and the second-largest U.S. transaction announced in 2010.

AIG's sale of Asia-based life insurer, AIA Group, to Britain's Prudential PLC last week for US$35.5 billion tops the global 2010 list.

The MetLife-Alico deal is the sixth-largest insurance transaction on record. Prudential's purchase of AIA is No. 1.

AIG still has the No. 2 and No. 3 spots respectively, with its acquisitions of American General Corp. in 2001 and SunAmerica Inc. in 1998.

With deals valued at US$61.7 billion so far this year, insurance is the second most targeted sector in 2010, just behind healthcare, which has had US$62.7 billion in deals to date, according to Dealogic.

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