TAL Dai-ichi Life increases Challenger stake to 19.9%

The news: Japanese life insurance giant TAL Dai-ichi Life will increase its equity stake in investment manager Challenger from 15.1% to 19.9% after securing the required regulatory approvals.

The numbers: Last month, US asset manager Apollo entered into a sale agreement to offload 4.8% of its stake in Challenger to TAL, which acquired 15.1% of the company from Japanese insurer MS&AC in April.

The context: Challenger confirmed this morning that TAL, the Australian subsidary of Dai-ichi Life, has received all the required regulatory approvals for the move, including from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.

TAL's 19.9% stake is now the maximum allowed under takeover rules without submitting a takeover bid.