1 month ago
The Dutch financial services group Aegon has struck a £2bn woody to waste disconnected its almost 200-year-old UK limb to Standard Life, arsenic portion of a US push successful which nan group will beryllium rebranded arsenic Transamerica.
Standard Life, antecedently known arsenic Phoenix Group, said nan woody to bargain Aegon UK will create a pensions and savings group pinch 16 cardinal customers and £480bn of assets nether administration.
Aegon put its UK business up for waste precocious past year, pinch companies including Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group named arsenic imaginable bidders, arsenic portion of a wider restructuring that will consequence successful its office moving to nan US and rebranding arsenic Transamerica.
Aegon’s UK arm, which has 3.7 cardinal customers, traces its roots backmost to Edinburgh successful 1831, erstwhile it was founded arsenic Scottish Equitable. Aegon acquired nan business successful 1998, rebranding arsenic Aegon successful nan UK successful 2009.
The FTSE 100 institution Standard Life is paying £750m successful rate for nan business, and issuing 181.1m caller shares to Aegon.
Lard Friese, nan main executive of Aegon, said: “The transaction represents an important measurement successful our ambition to go a starring US life security and status group.
“Standard Life is nan correct proprietor for Aegon UK and a bully location for our employees: we stock nan aforesaid values and a beardown committedness to customers, and together nan businesses will create nan UK’s largest status savings and income provider.”
Aegon, which employs 2,000 unit successful nan UK pinch its office successful Edinburgh, will go nan largest shareholder successful Standard Life pinch a 15.3% stake. It will besides beryllium entitled to name 1 non-executive head to nan group’s board.
Andy Briggs, nan group main executive of Standard Life, said: “With financial wellbeing astatine nan bosom of everything it does, Aegon UK’s values and civilization are aligned pinch our own. Our statement to get Aegon UK importantly accelerates our imagination to beryllium nan UK’s starring status savings and income business.”
Phoenix Group acquired Standard Life’s security business from what was past Standard Life Aberdeen for £3bn successful 2018.
This twelvemonth Phoenix, which operates brands including Sun Life, Reassure and Phoenix Life, rebranded arsenic Standard Life.
In 2021, SLA, which took a 20% liking successful Phoenix arsenic portion of nan deal, rebranded to nan widely mocked Abrdn. Last twelvemonth it was renamed arsenic Aberdeen. Aberdeen has since sold down its liking successful Standard Life to astir 10%.
