The cash purchase includes £260million for statutory net assets. The transaction will provide further scale and infrastructure for Swiss Re’s Admin ReSM business in the United Kingdom and is Swiss Re’s largest Admin ReSM deal to date.
Swiss Re will acquire around 400,000 policies with total assets of approximately £8billion. The portfolio is composed primarily of savings and income retirement planning products. It also includes the National Mutual Fund acquired by GE Life in 2002. Completion is anticipated by the end of 2006 subject to regulatory approvals. GE Life will continue to write new business through financial advisers, under a new brand name to be announced in 2007.
Jacques Aigrain, CEO at Swiss Re, said: “Swiss Re’s strong capital base combined with our experience in managing UK life portfolios has placed us in the lead to acquire the GE Life business at a value-creating price. By acquiring GE Life’s operations, including its experienced team, we will complement our existing Admin ReSM platform and pave the way for further Admin ReSM growth.”
