ZURICH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ACE Limited (NYSE:ACE) announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire New York Life’s Hong Kong and Korea life insurance operations for approximately $425 million in cash. The transaction will expand ACE’s life insurance business into two North Asia markets where the company currently has property and casualty (P&C) insurance operations and represents approximately $330 million in incremental life insurance revenues, $2.15 billion in assets and over 2,400 captive agents.

Evan G. Greenberg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, ACE Limited, commented: “ACE has a good track record for building and managing insurance companies globally and a young but successful record with building de novo life companies in Asia, including China, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. These two life insurance companies are small, solid agency operations that have been managed conservatively by New York Life, a venerable and highly professional company. They provide a good foundation on which to build our life operations in these two territories as part of our overall life insurance strategy in the region.

“This transaction is financially attractive to our shareholders. Within the first full year of ownership, the acquisition will be accretive to both earnings and book value per share and will achieve a return on capital that meets our targets.”

The final purchase price will be based on the adjusted book value of the life companies at the time of closing. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2011. ACE expects to fund the purchase price for the transaction with available cash. Additional information with respect to the transaction is posted on the company’s website in the Investor Information section. The URL reference is: http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/10/100907/Oct2010.pdf.

Celebrating 25 years of insuring progress, the ACE Group is a global leader in insurance and reinsurance serving a diverse group of clients. Headed by ACE Limited (NYSE: ACE), a component of the S&P 500 stock index, the ACE Group conducts its business on a worldwide basis with operating subsidiaries in more than 50 countries. Additional information can be found at: www.acegroup.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

All forward-looking statements made in this press release, related to ACE’s anticipated acquisition or otherwise, reflect ACE’s current views with respect to future events, business transactions and business performance and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in these statements. For example, ACE’s forward-looking statements related to the anticipated acquisition could prove incorrect if the transaction were to not close, if the acquired companies were to perform differently than currently expected by ACE or if anticipated expense-related efficiencies are not realized. More generally, the businesses of ACE and the acquired companies could be affected by competition, pricing and policy term trends, the levels of new and renewal business achieved, the frequency of unpredictable catastrophic events, actual loss experience, uncertainties in the reserving or settlement process, integration activities, new theories of liability, judicial, legislative, regulatory and other governmental developments, litigation tactics and developments, investigation developments and actual settlement terms, the amount and timing of reinsurance recoverable, credit developments among reinsurers, rating agency action, possible terrorism or the outbreak and effects of war, and economic, political, regulatory, insurance and reinsurance business conditions, as well as management’s response to these factors, and other factors identified in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the dates on which they are made. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.