Shareholders approve E. Sun Financial's acquisition of Mercuries Life

Taipei, Jan. 23 (CNA) A deal for E. Sun Financial Holding Co. to acquire Mercuries Life Insurance Co. was approved by shareholders of both companies on Friday, paving the way for E. Sun Financial to become Taiwan's fifth-largest listed financial holding firm.

E. Sun Financial held a special general meeting Friday morning, with 72.52 percent of shareholders in attendance. Of those present, 85.91 percent approved the acquisition proposal.

Mercuries Life also convened a special general meeting Friday morning, with 65.74 percent of its shareholders attending. Among them, 90.53 percent voted in favor of the deal.

E. Sun Financial proposed the acquisition in November 2025, seeking to buy Mercuries Life through a share swap in which it would offer 0.2486 of its own shares for each Mercuries Life share.

The offer was equivalent to NT$8.20 (US$0.25) per share, based on E. Sun Financial's 60-day average closing price of NT$32.99 prior to Nov. 5.

Based on that price, the transaction is valued at approximately NT$48.3 billion.

The deal is still subject to regulatory approval.

Speaking at the shareholder meeting, E. Sun Financial Chairman Joseph N.C. Huang (黃男洲) said the company would provide any necessary assistance to strengthen Mercuries Life's capital base and raise its capital adequacy ratio (CAR) to meet regulatory requirements.

According to the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), Mercuries Life's CAR stood at 154.27 percent as of the end of June 2025, below the FSC's minimum requirement of 200 percent.

Huang said that the ability to design competitive insurance products tailored to customers' needs is critical to an insurer's profitability.

Currently, E. Sun Financial has about 700 wealth management professionals, who will work closely with Mercuries Life's 8,600 sales professionals to create synergies following the acquisition, Huang said.

For his part, Mercuries Life Chairman Wong Chau-shi (翁肇喜) said 2026 would mark a new beginning for the company, adding that its sales team is highly motivated and expected to deliver solid results.

According to Wong, Mercuries Life achieved 95 percent of its target of NT$15 billion in contractual service margin (CSM) from new insurance policies in 2025. The company has raised its target by 10 percent for 2026.

Wong added that sales of investment-linked insurance policies were satisfactory last year. He also said the company will continue to strengthen this segment.