Orix Corp. is in talks to spend about $400 million to buy a stake in a Dubai-based life insurer from a European bank, according to President Makoto Inoue.
The finance and leasing company may acquire as much as 49 percent of an insurance holding company in the Persian Gulf state, Inoue said Monday. The Tokyo-based firm is now conducting due diligence to decide transaction terms, he said without naming the target or the seller.
"The Middle East is interesting," Inoue, 59, said. "There are many joint ventures with European financial firms there, and we see opportunities as banks are now struggling with their businesses and want to sell noncore operations."