Samsung Life Targets Top Stake in Principal Financial Group

Samsung Life Insurance, South Korea's largest life insurer, is in private talks to acquire as much as a 15 percent stake in Principal Financial Group, a move that would make it the largest single shareholder in the Iowa-based retirement and asset-management giant, according to industry sources cited by the Korea Economic Daily.

The stake is valued at between $3.6 billion and $4.4 billion, a price that would push Samsung Life past Vanguard Group, currently PFG's top holder with roughly 12 percent. Samsung Life has reportedly sent requests for proposals to major investment banks and accounting firms as it lines up advisers, though talks remain at an early stage and no final decision has been made.

The interest centers on Principal's scale in the US defined-contribution business. As of June 30, PFG managed $808 billion in assets, up 7 percent from a year earlier, and by the end of 2025 it administered retirement plans for more than 42,000 employers covering roughly 11.3 million participants — placing it among the three largest 401(k) providers in the country. Samsung Life is also said to be eyeing Principal's alternative-investment platform, particularly its North American commercial real estate and infrastructure holdings, assets that are difficult to source at scale within Korea.

The move fits a broader push by Samsung's financial affiliates to expand overseas as the domestic insurance market matures. Chairman Jay Y. Lee has reportedly urged the group's insurance and financial units to pursue more ambitious cross-border deals, and Samsung Life CFO Lee Wan-sam told investors on the company's second-quarter earnings call that the firm is actively evaluating acquisitions in advanced markets including the United States. Samsung Life and affiliate Samsung Fire & Marine jointly hold about a 10 percent stake in Samsung Electronics, giving the insurers substantial capital to deploy.

The Principal talks are running alongside a separate effort by Samsung Fire & Marine to take full control of Canopius, the Lloyd's of London specialty insurer in which it already owns a 40 percent stake. Combined, the two deals could total roughly $6.6 billion, which would rank as the largest cross-border acquisition ever undertaken by a Korean financial firm.

Neither Samsung Life nor Principal Financial Group has commented publicly on the reported negotiations, and the eventual structure of any deal — including whether it would give Samsung Life influence over Principal's product strategy — remains unclear.