Samsung Life buys 20% of French asset manager Meridiam

Samsung Life Insurance, managing 223.1 trillion won ($167.5 billion) in assets, has acquired a 20% stake in Paris-based infrastructure investment firm Meridiam SAS, becoming its second-largest shareholder.

Founded in 2005, Meridiam manages about $20 billion in infrastructure such as public services including schools and hospitals, transportation and renewables. The assets are located in both developed and emerging markets across Europe, Africa and the Americas.

The South Korean insurer has aggressively increased its alternative investments since 2020 when Chief Executive Jeon Young-mook took the helm. It acquired a 25% stake in London-based real estate firm Savills Investment Management for $90 million in 2021. 

The insurance firm is planning to increase exposure to global private equity, private debt and infrastructure this year.

Write to Han-Jong Choi at onebell@hankyung.com

Jihyun Kim edited this article.