Dutch insurance company Aegon has agreed to divest its Irish business to Ager Bermuda, the parent company of the European operations of Athene, for about €180m.
Aegon Ireland, the Irish subsidiary of Aegon to be divested, offers wealth management and retirement planning products in the UK and Germany to more than 25,000 customers.
Its assets have been recorded to be worth about £4.7bn as of 30 June 2017.
For Aegon, the transaction will streamline its portfolio of businesses further while growing its financial flexibility.
Earlier in the month, Aegon had agreed to divest its Dutch insurance brokerage subsidiary Unirobe Meeùs Groep (UMG) to Aon for €295m.
Aegon CEO Alex Wynaendts said: "Aegon continuously reviews its portfolio of businesses in order to ensure that they fit the wider strategy of the group, and we have come to the conclusion to divest our business in Ireland.”
“We believe this change in ownership is in the best interest of all stakeholders concerned, and I would like to thank everyone at Aegon Ireland for their contribution to the company.”
For Ager Bermuda, which is claimed to be the second largest reinsurance market in the world, the acquisition will be another major step towards becoming the premier run-off consolidator and life reinsurance partner in Europe.
Ager executive vice president Deepak Rajan said: “We see significant opportunities with Aegon Ireland. This acquisition gives us a strong platform to accumulate Irish annuities, to create a reinsurance hub in Europe, and to provide services to all AGER group companies including our existing German operations.
“A presence in Ireland has been part of our strategy from the beginning and Aegon Ireland is a perfect fit for our growth plans.”
The parties expect the transaction to be completed by the first quarter of 2018 based on receipt of regulatory approvals.
Image: Aegon’s global headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands. Photo: courtesy of Aegon.