Moody’s could lift Symetra

Moody's Investors Service said it placed the Baa3 senior debt and Ba1 (hyb) junior subordinated debt ratings of Symetra Financial Corp., as well as the A3 long-term and P-2 short-term insurance financial strength ratings of Symetra's key life insurance operating subsidiary, Symetra Life Insurance Co., on review for upgrade.

The action follows the announcement by Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. (A1 IFS, stable) of its proposed acquisition of all the outstanding stock of Symetra for $3.7 billion of cash in a transaction expected to close in the first half of 2016, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.

"Following the acquisition by Sumitomo Life, we expect Symetra's business strategy and risk profile to remain essentially unchanged and the current management team and other key employees to remain in place," Moody's vice president and senior analyst Shachar Gonen said in a news release.

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