Law firms Yulchon and Latham & Watkins have advised on the successful acquisition of South Korea-based non-life insurer DB Insurance’s KRW2.5 trillion (USD1.65 billion) 100% stake in US specialty insurer The Fortegra Group from Tiptree and Warburg Pincus.
The transaction, announced in September 2025, marks one of the largest overseas insurance M&A deals undertaken by a Korean insurer.
Yulchon advised on multiple aspects of the deal, with the team led by partners Hyeon Hwa Shin and Hyo Jeong Doh, and senior foreign attorney Tehyok Daniel Yi.
“We provided comprehensive counsel across the entire transaction. This included conducting legal due diligence on the target company, structuring the transaction, reviewing acquisition agreements, and securing regulatory approvals,” Yi told Asia Business Law Journal.
He added that the transaction structure was among the most challenging aspects of the acquisition.
“The acquisition was structured as a reverse triangular merger — a common framework in the US — but adapting this structure to comply with Korean legal and regulatory requirements was challenging. Furthermore, the transaction structure and procedures were particularly intricate because the target company’s major shareholder is publicly listed in the US, and the target itself is a holding company with multiple subsidiaries,” he said.
“This was a pivotal transaction aimed at securing a strategic platform in the US — the world’s largest insurance market — to drive the global growth of a domestic insurer. Given the complexity of the structure, it was by no means a simple transaction. We are extremely pleased to have successfully advised on and facilitated the closing of such a landmark deal.”
Latham & Watkins represented DB Insurance in the transaction, with a corporate deal team led by New York-based partners Gary Boss, Kirsten Gaeta and Andrew Elken, global vice chair of the public company and board representation practice. Counsel Andrew Moosmann and associates Teresa Ella Wendel and Maddy Berg were also team members.
Partner Tim Scott and counsel Alexander Traum advised on insurance regulatory matters, while partners Eric Kamerman and Megan Alessi assisted on tax and benefits issues, respectively.
