SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
_______________________
 
 
FORM 8-K
 
CURRENT REPORT
 
 
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
 
Date of Report: April 18, 2011
(Date of earliest event reported)
 
 
PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
 
 
                                        Delaware                      1-16725                                        42-1520346 
                                (State or other jurisdiction        (Commission file number)                (I.R.S. Employer 
                                    of incorporation)                                                                   Identification Number) 
 
 
711 High Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50392
(Address of principal executive offices)
 
(515) 247-5111
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
 
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the 
registrant under any of the following provisions:   
 
[     ]  Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) 
[     ]  Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) 
[     ]  Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 
  240.14d-2(b))     
[     ]  Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 
  240.13e-4(c))
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Item 7.01  Regulation FD Disclosure   
Principal Financial Group, Inc. announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Principal Global Investors, 
LLC, a global asset manger, entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a 51% majority stake in Finisterre 
Capital, LLP, and Finisterre Holdings Limited, (together Finisterre Capital), an emerging markets investor 
based in London. The initial payment for the majority stake will be $84.6 million USD, with a possible 
additional contingent payment of up to $30 million in 2013, dependent upon performance targets. A press 
release of the announcement is included herewith as Exhibit 99. 
Item 9.01  Financial Statements and Exhibits 
99  Finisterre Capital Press Release   
 
 
                                                                   SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused 
this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized. 
 
                                                                   PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP, INC. 
 
                                                                   By:       /s/ John Egan                                                        
                                                         Name:  John Egan 
                                                         Title:    Vice President – Investor Relations 
 
Date: April 18, 2011   

 



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                                                                                                   Exhibit 99 
Release:  On receipt, April 18, 2011 
Media Contacts: 
     US media contact: Paula Chizek, 515-235-6010, chizek.paula@principal.com 
     UK media contact - PGI: Claire Maloney, (44) 20 7307 5330, claire.maloney@capitalmsl.com 
     UK media contact - Finisterre: Paul Mungo (44) 20 3178 6872, paul.mungo@peregrinecommunications.co.uk 
Investor Relations: 
    John Egan, Principal Financial Group, 515-235-9500, egan.john@principal.com 
 
 
                Principal Global Investors To Acquire Majority Stake in Finisterre Capital 
                         Acquisition expands its emerging market investment capabilities
 
(Des Moines, Iowa) – Principal Global Investors, LLC, a leading global asset manager and a member 
of the Principal Financial Group® (NYSE:PFG), today announced a definitive agreement to acquire a 
majority stake in Finisterre Capital, LLP, and Finisterre Holdings Limited, (together Finisterre 
Capital), an established emerging markets investor based in London. 
            “Finisterre Capital is a top-class emerging markets fixed income specialist with a strong 
investment performance track record,” said Jim McCaughan, chief executive officer of Principal 
Global Investors. “We are excited about the opportunity to help the business develop further and 
expand our capabilities in this growing market segment. There is already an enormous appetite to 
invest in emerging economies and we firmly believe the demand will continue as these markets 
develop.” 
            Founded in 2002, Finisterre Capital has approximately $1.63 billion1 in assets under 
management primarily across three funds: Global Opportunity Fund, Sovereign Debt Fund and Credit 
Fund. The five partners (Frode Foss-Skiftesvik, Paul Crean, Rafaël Biosse Duplan, Xavier Corin-Mick 
and Yan Swiderski) will retain a significant minority stake in the business and have agreed to put a 
significant share of their consideration into funds managed by the firm. They will continue to direct the 
day-to-day operations and will retain authority over fund investment decisions. 
            “The strategic partnership with Principal offers us the very attractive combination of continued 
autonomy and long-term stability for our clients,” said Paul Crean, chief investment officer at 
Finisterre Capital. “It will enable us to expand our capabilities while preserving our business focus, 
organizational structure and unique investment culture.” 
            Through this transaction, The Principal will enhance its emerging market investment 
capabilities, with an opportunity to develop a wider platform through the launch of complementary 
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1 As of April 1, 2011. 

 



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new emerging market products and strategies, and further strengthen its well-established multi- 
boutique model. Finisterre Capital will benefit from access to The Principal’s global presence and 
strong distribution network, as well as leveraging Principal’s product development expertise and best- 
practice support infrastructure. 
            The transaction is expected to close early in third quarter, pending regulatory approval. It is 
part of the Principal Financial Group’s 2011 capital deployment strategy of spending approximately 
$700 million on executing attractive M&A opportunities and a share repurchase program. Excluding 
transaction and integration costs, The Principal estimates the acquisition will be EPS neutral in 2011 
and accretive in 2012. 
           Sandler O'Neill + Partners advised The Principal on the transaction and Fenchurch Advisory 
Partners advised Finisterre Capital. 
                  For more news and insights from The Principal, connect with us on Twitter at: 
http://twitter.com/ThePrincipal. 
 
Forward looking and cautionary statements 
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements as to 
operating earnings, net income available to common stockholders, net cash flows, realized and 
unrealized losses, capital and liquidity positions, sales and earnings trends, and management's beliefs, 
expectations, goals and opinions. The company does not undertake to update or revise these 
statements, which are based on a number of assumptions concerning future conditions that may 
ultimately prove to be inaccurate. Future events and their effects on the company may not be those 
anticipated, and actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward- 
looking statements. The risks, uncertainties and factors that could cause or contribute to such material 
differences are discussed in the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 
2010, filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as updated or 
supplemented from time to time in subsequent filings. These risks and uncertainties include, without 
limitation: adverse capital and credit market conditions that may significantly affect the company’s 
ability to meet liquidity needs, access to capital and cost of capital; continued difficult conditions in the 
global capital markets and the economy generally that may materially adversely affect the company’s 
business and results of operations; the risk from acquiring new businesses, which could result in the 
impairment of goodwill and/or intangible assets recognized at the time of acquisition; impairment of 
other financial institutions that could adversely affect the company; investment risks which may 
diminish the value of the company’s invested assets and the investment returns credited to customers, 
which could reduce sales, revenues, assets under management and net income; requirements to post 
collateral or make payments related to declines in market value of specified assets may adversely affect 
company liquidity and expose the company to counterparty credit risk; changes in laws, regulations or 
accounting standards that may reduce company profitability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange 
rates that could reduce company profitability; Principal Financial Group, Inc.’s primary reliance, as a 
holding company, on dividends from its subsidiaries to meet debt payment obligations and regulatory 
restrictions on the ability of subsidiaries to pay such dividends; competitive factors; volatility of 
financial markets; decrease in ratings; interest rate changes; inability to attract and retain sales 
representatives; international business risks; a pandemic, terrorist attack or other catastrophic event; 
and default of the company’s re-insurers. 

 



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About Principal Global Investors 
Principal Global Investors is a diversified asset management organization and a member of the 
Principal Financial Group, with expertise in equities, fixed income and real estate investments, as well 
as specialized overlay and advisory services. Principal Global Investors manages $232.4 billion in 
assets2 primarily for retirement plans and other institutional clients. 
 
About Finisterre Capital LLP 
Finisterre Capital LLP, founded in 2002, is an emerging markets fixed income specialist dedicated to 
delivering risk-controlled, total return investment strategies to the institutional marketplace. The firm 
manages emerging markets funds in a variety of asset classes, including sovereign debt, local currency 
debt, foreign exchange, corporate credit, special situations and equity. 
 
About the Principal Financial Group 
The Principal Financial GroupÒ (The Principal ® )3 is a leader in offering businesses, individuals and 
institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement and 
investment services, life and health insurance, and banking through its diverse family of financial 
services companies. A member of the Fortune 500, the Principal Financial Group has $318.8 billion in 
assets under management2 and serves some 19.1 million customers worldwide from offices in Asia, 
Australia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. Principal Financial Group, Inc. is traded on 
the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PFG. For more information, visit 
www.principal.com. 
# # # 
 
 
 
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2 As of Dec. 31, 2010. 
3 "The Principal Financial Group" and “The Principal” are registered service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a member of the 
Principal Financial Group.