Zurich-based Swiss Reinsurance (Swiss Re) is reportedly looking for viable options to divest Aurora National Life Assurance Co, as the company seeks to exit the US life and health insurance market.
People familiar with the matter were quoted by Bloomberg as saying that the reinsurer is working with British-bank Barclays to search for suitable buyers for Aurora National and some other US assets.
The sale of California-based insurance company Aurora National is expected to raise more than $400m, one source told the news agency.
The source further added that proposed transaction would comprise approximately $5bn in insurance assets, including corporate-owned and other life-insurance policies and annuities.
Aurora National is licensed to operate in 46 states and the District of Columbia. It serves over 88,000 life policyholders and annuity contract holders, with more than $2bn of insurance in force and $3bn in assets, as of 30 June 2012.
The company offers life insurance and annuity products, such as single and annual premium whole life, term life, deferred and immediate annuities, and qualified retirement annuities.
In July, Swiss Re said that it is in talks to integrate the rest of Admin Re with UK-based life insurer Phoenix Group, in a bid to emerge as the bigger company in the insurance sector.
Following completion of the merger, the integrated entity will have more than £100bn of assets under management and approximately 10 million policy-holders.
Admin Re and Phoenix both operate as closed book insurers, involved in acquiring life insurance operations, which have stopped accepting new customers and then seek to combine the companies into profitable one by reducing operational expenses.