Genworth Clears Major Obstacle to Completing China Oceanwide Deal

China Oceanwide and Genworth did say, in several notices filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, that they were trying to develop "mitigation options" involving an outside company. The companies did not give a clear description of the issues CFIUS wanted Genworth to mitigate.

Securities analysts and others speculated that CFIUS wanted to make sure that Genworth would keep China Oceanwide from getting access to U.S. policyholders' personal information.

In the new announcement, China Oceanwide and Genworth have confirmed that the CFIUS concerns involved customer data.

China Oceanwide and Genworth have "entered into a mitigation agreement which, among other things, requires Genworth to use a U.S.-based, third-party service provider to manage and protect the personal data of Genworth's U.S. policyholders," the companies said.

Tom McInerney, Genworth's president, said in a statement that Genworth looks forward to working with China Oceanwide to obtain the remaining regulatory approvals needed to complete the transaction.

Lu Zhiqiang, chairman of China Oceanwide, said in a statement that his company also continues to look forward to completing the deal.

"Successfully concluding the CFIUS process is a major step in our efforts to complete this transaction, which will strengthen Genworth's financial position and allow us to bring Genworth's insurance expertise to China," Lu said.

Correction: An earlier version of this article described Genworth's plans for its operations incorrectly. The company is currently planning to keep the long-term care insurance business together with the annuity business.

— Read Genworth and China Oceanwide Hint at U.S. Panel National Security Concerns, on ThinkAdvisor.

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