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Moody's: Nomura's sale of Asahi Fire & Marine Insurance stake is credit positive

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Moody's: Nomura's sale of Asahi Fire & Marine Insurance stake is credit positive

Nomura Holdings Inc.'s sale of its stake in Asahi Fire & Marine Insurance Co. Ltd. to e-commerce group Rakuten Inc. is credit positive for Nomura, Moody's said.

The rating agency said Feb. 1 that the transaction will generate proceeds while reducing the company's risk-weighted assets, which will help the firm boost its capital metrics. The sale will also free up management resources to focus on Nomura's main business.

Nomura and Rakuten on Jan. 29 reached an agreement for the former's 4,369,100 ordinary shares and 2,084,000 preferred shares in the nonlife insurer. Rakuten is offering ¥2,664 per share of common stock and ¥10,656 per series A class stock under its tender offer for up to 16,891,288 Asahi Fire & Marine Insurance shares.

The transaction is expected to close March 30.

Nomura is expected to gain approximately ¥9 billion in pretax income from the sale, which will be booked in its consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31. The contribution from this disposal will partly offset weak performance by Nomura's overseas businesses, Moody's said.

As of Jan. 31, US$1 was equivalent to ¥109.27.