ReAssure will grow its total policy count to 4.5 million and assets under administration to £81bn after the addition of 200,000 customers from Quilter Life Assurance and its subsidiary
Image: Quilter to offload Old Mutual Wealth Life Assurance to ReAssure. Photo: courtesy of Basher Eyre/Wikipedia.org.
UK-based Quilter has agreed to sell its heritage life and pensions division Old Mutual Wealth Life Assurance (Quilter Life Assurance) to ReAssure, a subsidiary of Swiss Re, for £425m.
Quilter Life Assurance is the UK closed book business of unit-linked policies. The business also includes its subsidiary Old Mutual Wealth Pensions Trustees, including nearly 300 employees.
Previously considered to be the core of Quilter’s UK business, Quilter Life Assurance provides pensions, investment and savings, and protection products with retail and also institutional offerings.
Its sale follows a strategic review undertaken by Quilter, which expects the transaction to further consolidate its position as an advice-led, modern wealth manager.
Quilter CEO Paul Feeney said: “ReAssure is a highly regarded manager of closed book assets and has the experience to deliver continued high quality investment and administration services to clients of Quilter Life Assurance.
“The Quilter Board is currently minded to return a meaningful proportion of the net surplus proceeds arising from the transaction to shareholders and will consult with them on the most appropriate means of undertaking this.”
What the acquisition means for ReAssure
For ReAssure, the transaction will expand its total policy count to 4.5 million and assets under administration to £81bn following the addition of 200,000 customers from Quilter Life Assurance and its subsidiary. The company expects to fund the transaction from its internal resources.
The deal, which follows the acquisition of more than a million policies from Legal & General in 2017 by ReAssure, is expected to further strengthen the company’s position as a major consolidator of life and pensions business in the UK.
Swiss Re life capital business unit CEO Thierry Léger said: “This acquisition continues ReAssure’s success in capturing attractive opportunities in a rich pipeline of potential transactions and demonstrates the strength of its business model and management team. We remain fully supportive of ReAssure as the company continues to pursue its growth strategy and build its cash generating capacity.”
The transaction, which is subject to receipt of regulatory approvals from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), is expected to be wrapped up by the year-end.