Genworth pulls plug on its acquisition by China Oceanwide

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Insurer Genworth Financial has pulled the plug on its long-delayed acquisition by a Chinese company.

The provider of mortgage and long-term care insurance based in Richmond, Virginia, said Tuesday that it had exercised its right to terminate the deal with Beijing-based China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co.

The deal was first announced in 2016, with China Oceanwide agreeing to buy Genworth for about $2.7 billion. It was originally expected to close in the following year.

But regulatory hurdles and financing issues repeatedly delayed the marriage, which was further complicated in the last year by the global coronavirus pandemic.

Genworth’s board “concluded that Oceanwide will be unable to close the proposed transaction within a reasonable time frame and that greater clarity about Genworth’s future is needed now in order for the company to execute its plans to maximize shareholder value,” James Riepe, Genworth's non-executive chairman, said in a statement.

Those plans include a potential partial initial public stock offering of Genworth's U.S. mortgage insurance business, the company said. It also indicated that it and China Oceanwide will still consider working together on ways to provide long-term care insurance and other products in China.

Shares in Genworth Financial Inc. fell about 1% in after-market trading Tuesday after the announcement of the deal's demise.