Sir Clive Cowdery set for bumper windfall on £8.3bn sale of insurance coverage agency Resolution Life to Japanese rival

British tycoon Sir Clive Cowdery could be in line for a bumper windfall after the sale of his insurance firm to a Japanese rival.

The entrepreneur will stay on as chief executive and chairman of insurer Resolution Life following the £8.3billion deal with Osaka-headquartered Nippon Life.

The sale could land him a huge payout – possibly billions – though the exact figure remains a secret because the size of his stake is unknown.

The deal comes amid a spate of takeovers across the world including the recent £3.6billion bid by UK insurer Aviva for smaller, struggling rival Direct Line.

This week alone has seen US advertising firms Omnicom and Interpublic agree a £10billion tie-up while Cadbury owner Mondelez has been rebuffed in its bid for rival chocolate maker Hershey

Set up by Cowdery in 2008, Resolution Life has around £67billion in assets under management and more than 4m insurance policies. It grew by snapping up books of life insurance policies around the world from insurers.

Cashing in: Sir Clive Cowdery will stay on as chief exec and chairman of insurer Resolution Life following its £8.3bn sale to Osaka-headquartered Nippon Life

The businessman also set up left-leaning think-tank Resolution Foundation, which says it is focused on improving the living standards of low-to-middle income households.

The research group calculates the real Living Wage, a voluntary hourly pay rate set above the Government’s official minimum pay bands.

Cowdery was knighted in 2016 for services to children and social mobility.

He is also the publisher of current affairs magazine Prospect, which is run by former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger.

As a director of lobbying group Best for Britain until 2021, Cowdery helped lead a campaign to stop Brexit. 

As it is a private business, the size of his remaining stake in Resolution has not been made public. But he is probably set for a huge pay day from a deal that values it at £8.3billion.

Nippon Life, which already holds a 23 per cent stake, will buy the rest of the shares for £6.4billion.

It plans to make the Bermuda-based firm a wholly owned subsidiary by the end of 2025.

Other investors include US private equity giant Blackstone, which will continue to be its investment management partner after the takeover.

Cowdery said: ‘Combining Resolution Life’s strengths, the investment management expertise of Blackstone and a well-funded parent gives us the opportunity to accelerate growth and serve the needs of policyholders into the decades ahead.’

Nippon will also acquire the 20 per cent stake it does not own in MLC Life from National Australia Bank for about £250.6million and merge it with Resolution Life Australasia to form Acenda, a life insurer. 

It is the largest-ever overseas acquisition by a Japanese insurer.