ACE Ltd said it would be purchasing a 60.9% stake in Siam Commercial Samaggi Insurance PCL for a price tag of $185 million, Reuters reported. The Zurich, Switzerland-based insurer is one of the foreign insurance firms seeking to increase their footprint in the underdeveloped insurance markets of Southeast Asia, the report said.

Based in Bangkok, Siam Commercial Samaggi provides auto, small commercial and personal accident insurance products, making them available through the branches of Siam Commercial Bank and independent agents. In 2012, the gross premiums of the Thai insurer reached $138 million.

The deal is set to be finished in the second quarter of this year. In a statement, ACE Ltd Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Evan G. Greenberg said "Siam Commercial Samaggi Insurance is a well-established and trusted insurer in Thailand. This transaction presents an excellent opportunity for ACE to further build our business in this fast-growing market by expanding our presence in personal and small commercial insurance."

Data from Thomson Reuters showed that Siam Commercial Samaggi is 24% owned by Siam Commercial Bank.  Reuters reported that shares of the Thai insurer went up 13% on Monday, January 13, even as the country's stock index fell 0.2%.

The agreement comes in the midst of the political unrest happening in Thailand where anti-government forces are trying to get rid of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. The continuing conflict has weighed on the baht and Thailand's stock markets, the report said.

Last year, Thomson Reuters data showed that Thailand ranked sixth in the mergers and acquisitions market in the Asia Pacific, clinching deals amounting to $15.3 billion. The Southeast Asian region was a busy time for bank and insurance deals in 2013. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group approved a 72% acquisition of Thailand's Bank of Ayudhya in a $5.31 deal. Meiji Yasua Life Insurance also agreed to purchase a 15% stake in Thai Life Insurance Co for a price tag of $700 million, the report said.