AGER Bermuda Holding Ltd. has announced that it’s to acquire Aegon Ireland plc for roughly 81% of the own funds of Aegon Ireland as of closing, which, as of June 30th 2017 were approximately £200 million ($260 million).
AGER Bermuda is the holding company of Athene Holdings Ltd.’s European group companies, and the acquisition of provider of wealth management and retirement solutions, Aegon Ireland, gives it a European growth platform.
Subject to regulatory approvals the deal is expected to close in the first-quarter of 2018.
Deepak Rajan, Executive Vice President of AGER, said; “The successful capital raise by AGER in April 2017 has laid the foundation for our growth in Europe. This transaction is another important step toward our goal of becoming the premier European run-off consolidator and life reinsurance partner.
“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.”
According to an announcement AGER received binding subscriptions via a private placement of common equity securities, which involved subscriptions that represented about €2.2 billion from a range of investors, including Athene and Apollo Global Management, LLC. This was intended to support its capital and reinsurance operations in the European guaranteed life insurance sector.
Furthermore, AGER has said that it plans to utilise capital from this offering before the closing of the deal to acquire Aegon Ireland, that will result in the deconsolidation of AGER from Athene. However, Athene will remain a large minority stake holder in AGER, as well as being a preferred reinsurer for its spread liabilities, says the company.
“Our goals for Europe are ambitious, but we have the capital, management team and blueprint for the future to become a competitive and permanent player in the market. The Athene Leben platform demonstrates our extensive experience in acquiring, integrating and administering run-off platforms. The acquisition of Aegon Ireland greatly enhances our ability to provide flexible solutions to the European market. This combination positions us well for the future,” continued Rajan.
