Billion-Pound Takeover Deal

A group for savings and pension services supported by Apollo Global Management is recording a billion-pound takeover of the Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), one of the city’s largest special insurers.

Background on the Deal

Athora, founded by Apollo, the American alternative investment giant, is experiencing control of PIC in discussions. If successfully completed, the deal, which could be worth between 4 billion GBP and 5 billion GBP, would be a pioneering transaction on the market for pension risk transmission.

Market for Pension Risk Transmission

Companies such as PIC, Legal & General, and Rothesay take over the defined performance pension systems of companies and the strong assets behind them and have grown considerably in the past decade. RSA, the insurer, and British American Tobacco are among the corporate names with which PIC has processed. It has also signed agreements with Chemring and Qantas.

Shareholders and Previous Offers

PIC shareholders include CVC Capital Partners, Blackrock-HPS, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and Reinet, a vehicle that was created from the restructuring of the Luxury goods group Richemont. Apollo previously looked at an offer for PIC in 2023, whereby competing bidders, including Carlyle and KKR, also appeared.

Current Market and Future Plans

The market for BGL annuities has exploded in recent years as companies want to unload a variety of financial risks related to pensions. PIC recently announced the retirement of its long-time managing director, Tracy Blackwell, and still calls for her successor. Spokesman for Apollo and Pic refused to comment on further details regarding the potential deal.