Voya Financial Receives Informal Takeover Interest but Is Not Pursuing a Deal

Voya Financial has fielded informal takeover interest in recent weeks, according to people familiar with the matter. The outreach has not led to any ongoing talks, and people close to the $9 billion company said neither management nor the board are seeking to transact. Principal Financial expressed interest in Voya earlier this year, though nothing came of that approach, some of the people said.

That interest predated the activist campaign at Voya. Principal manages around $770 billion in assets while Voya manages about $350 billion. Other people familiar with the matter said Principal could again seek a deal with Voya.

Spokespeople for both companies declined to comment. Voya spun out of Dutch financial giant ING in 2013 and has been viewed as an attractive target since then. In 2020 the Financial Times reported that Voya had held talks with multiple bidders, including Principal.

Activist investor TOMS Capital took a stake in Voya earlier this year and has applied significant pressure behind the scenes, people familiar with the matter said. TOMS has publicly demanded that Voya initiate a strategic review and engage with all interested parties.

TOMS Capital's pressure at Kellogg spinoff Kellanova led to a $36 billion acquisition by Mars, and it pushed for change at Tylenol parent Kenvue, which sold itself to Kimberly-Clark in a $48 billion deal last year.