A Japanese life insurance company has bought...

A Japanese life insurance company has bought a 20% stake in Chicago-based LaSalle Partners Ltd., one of the nation’s largest privately held corporate real-estate firms. Dai-Ichi Mutual Life Insurance Co., Japan’s second-largest life insurance concern, acquired its interest in the Chicago real estate firm for an undisclosed amount of money, the Chicago Tribune reported. Officials at LaSalle Partners would neither confirm nor deny the purchase agreement, but the Tribune quoted unidentified real estate sources as saying the deal was signed June 30.