Lifenet Insurance has signed a conditional agreement to buy all of Kizuna, a Nagoya-based small-amount short-term insurer, giving the online life insurer a licence for smaller, simpler policies sold through partners. Its board approved the deal on 15 October 2026.
What Lifenet is paying
The purchase price is not public: the release says it was withheld under an arrangement with the counterparty. Lifenet says it tested the amount through internal due diligence and recent comparable deals. The figure that is public, about ¥390mn, is the expected total outlay for starting the business, and it covers share purchase and systems investment together. It is not the price of Kizuna.
Lifenet will acquire 212,620 shares, taking it from no holding to 100%. The seller is Kizuna's largest shareholder, an individual who held 84.37% at 31 March 2026. The deal assumes he first buys the shares of the other holders.
Why a tiny insurer
Lifenet's medium-term plan, which runs to the year ending March 2029, names embedded insurance as one of three priority areas. The company says partner platforms are seeing more demand for smaller, simpler products, and it wants a business base that is flexible in product development and systems.
Kizuna is small. It was founded in July 2022, and for the year to March 2026 it reported ordinary revenue of ¥1.84mn and a net loss of ¥22.95mn.
Timetable and conditions
Share transfer is planned for April 2027, and business is due to start in the first quarter of the year to March 2029. Kizuna is expected to become a consolidated subsidiary in the first quarter of the year to March 2028. Lifenet calls the effect on its forecast for the year to March 2027 minor. Completion depends on approval under the Insurance Business Act and other conditions, and the schedule may change if they are not met.