ClearView Ends Co-Operation Agreement With Sony Life

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Listed life insurer ClearView will end its Co-operation Agreement with Sony Life a year and a half after it was first announced to the market.

ClearView MD, Simon Swanson

ClearView Managing Director, Simon Swanson made the announcement via the ASX stating its Board made the decision that it was in the best interests of ClearView to terminate the Co-operation Agreement with three months’ notice provided to Sony Life, effectively ending the arrangement on 26 July 2018.

The announcement stated the decision was made as “…no offer for the Board’s consideration has been received from Sony Life Insurance” leading it to issue a termination notice for the agreement which was first announced on 13 January 2017 (see: ClearView, Sony Life Sign Co-operation Agreement).

Under the Agreement, ClearView and Sony Life were to share information and co-ordinate activities to grow both organisations, including ClearView’s presence in the non-aligned advice sector.

In late 2016, Sony Life acquired a 14.9 per cent stake in ClearView and the ‘offer to the Board’ mentioned in the recent announcement refers to a separate equity purchasing arrangement.

Under this arrangement, Sony Life had the option of purchasing up to 50.1 per cent of ClearView within 18 months of acquiring its initial stake (see: Japanese Insurer Takes Stake in ClearView), but has maintained its current stake at 14.9 per cent.