TOKYO, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Nippon Life Insurance

is in the final stages of buyout talks with U.S. life

insurer Resolution Life Group Holdings, Resolution said on

Tuesday, in what would reportedly be a $8.2 billion deal that

highlights Japanese insurers' hunt for growth in the world's

biggest economy.

The acquisition, which was first reported by the Nikkei

business daily, would be worth around $8.2 billion, the

newspaper said. If the deal goes ahead, it will be the largest

ever foreign acquisition by a Japanese insurer.

Nippon Life will purchase the shares it does not already own

in Resolution Life from Blackstone and others to make it

a wholly owned subsidiary in the second half of 2025 and will

pay for the acquisition with cash on hand, the Nikkei said.

The deal is the latest example of heavyweight Japanese

insurance companies going abroad in search of acquisitions in

faster-growing markets, given the limited chance for expansion

at home where the population is shrinking and ageing.

Bermuda-based Resolution Life confirmed it was in talks

about the acquisition but added that these had not concluded and

there was no certainty that a transaction would proceed.

A spokesperson for Nippon Life said the company was in talks

with Resolution Life, but added it could not disclose what the

discussions were about.

Blackstone declined to comment on the Nikkei report

The acquisition would mark Nippon Life's second major

overseas investment this year, following its $3.8 billion

purchase of a 20% stake in U.S. insurance firm Corebridge

Financial ( CRBG ) in May.

It has also sought to diversify its domestic business,

buying nursing care provider Nichii Holdings for 1.4 billion in

November last year, but it has lagged other Japanese insurers in

U.S. acquisitions.

Property and casualty insurer Tokio Marine Holdings

bought speciality insurer HCC Insurance Holdings for $7.5

billion in 2015, paid $2.7 billion in 2011 for Delphi Financial

and bought Philadelphia Consolidated for $4.7 billion in 2008.

Cross-border M&A involving Japanese companies has surged

this year

, driven by amended guidelines designed to encourage

takeovers of Japanese firms.

Japanese firms also are continuing to look abroad for

growth as their domestic market shrinks.

Resolution Life is a closed-book insurer that purchases

existing insurance policies from insurers in the U.S. and other

countries.

Nippon Life has built up a 23% stake in the firm since

2019, spending a total of $1.68 billion thus far, the Nikkei

said.