Hanwha hires JPMorgan to sell Korea Life stake

HONG KONG, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Hanwha Group has hired investment bank JPMorgan (JPM.N) to sell a 9.9 percent stake in its Korea Life insurance unit, sources said on Wednesday, in a deal that could value the unit at more than $7.5 billion.

Affinity Equity, Carlyle Group and MBK Partners are among several private equity firms interested in the stake, which is targeting $500 million to $750 million from foreign investors, sources with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters.

Hanwha has previous plans in place to publicly list Korea Life. A minority stake from a foreign investor would not only help give Korea Life a pre-IPO valuation, but would raise cash for Hanwha's bid for a stake in Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (042660.KS).

(Reporting by Michael Flaherty, Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)