New England Mutual Life, Met Life Expected to Merge

Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. and New England Mutual Life Insurance Co., which have been in talks for several months about an alliance, are expected to announce a merger as early as this week, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Citing sources familiar with the discussions, the newspaper said New England Mutual will become a unit of Met Life, the nation’s second-largest life insurer, under a plan to combine the two companies without exchanging stock or cash.

Both companies are mutual insurers, which means their assets are owned by policyholders rather than shareholders.

The companies said in April that they were discussing an alliance but did not give details. Spokesmen at both New York-based Met Life and Boston-based New England Mutual confirmed Monday that talks were ongoing, but they declined to comment on whether a merger would be announced this week.

The deal would combine Met Life’s strong financial position with New England Mutual’s upscale clientele. Met Life has $131.2 billion in assets, compared to New England Mutual’s $15.7 billion, the Journal said. The smaller firm has had problems with real estate investments. Met Life focuses on selling insurance and retirement products to middle-class clients, while New England targets life insurance and investment products to high-income people.

Under the merger, New England Mutual would retain its base in Boston and keep its own sales force and other staffs, the Journal quoted sources as saying.