Equitable Life ready for a sale
Equitable Life, the mutual insurer that came close to collapse eight years ago, is to be put up for sale.
Since the beginning of last year, the company has reshaped itself in preparation for a change of ownership, although a sale of the business would have to be approved by its 750,000 with-profits policyholders.
The firm has transferred the bulk of its fixed pensions (£4.6 billion) to Canada Life and Reliance Mutual has acquired its University Life Assurance business.
Equitable has also redeemed all outstanding Subordinated Bonds and transferred its with-profits annuities (pensions in payment) to Prudential (£1.7 billion).
Equitable’s chairman, Vanni Treves, says: “We can comfortably run the business off ourselves, but we are also in good shape for others to consider.”
Adding: “If one or more third parties can provide a better outlook for our policyholders than we can ourselves then we will recommend the best approach to our members. Whatever the outcome, the next 12 months is the right time to address this question.”
The firm’s with-profits fund currently stands at £6.8 billion. Should it fail to achieve a sale Equitable will continue to operate as a closed life insurer and manage existing policies until they mature.
Category: Companies News, Insurance News
Visited 3300 times, 4 so far today
Comments (0)
Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed
There are no comments yet. Why not be the first to speak your mind.