Great-West Lifeco will make the purchase through its Canada Life Ltd subsidiary and it is expected, subject to the necessary regulatory approvals, that the transaction will close in July. Following completion, Canada Life Ireland, Great-West’s domestic Irish brand, will be merged with the existing Irish Life brand.
Established in 1939, Irish Life is the largest life and pensions group and investment manager in Ireland, with more than one million customers and €37bn of assets under management.
Allen Loney, president and chief executive of Great-West, said the acquisition “allows [Great-West] to achieve – with a single transaction – the leading position in life insurance, pensions and investment management” in Ireland.
At the height of the eurozone debt crisis, Great-West pulled out of a deal with Irish Life & Permanent to buy its insurance arm, Irish Life, leaving the Irish government forced to inject a further €1.3bn into Life & Permanent.
During this period, Swedish life company, SEB Life, purchased Irish Life International from Irish Life & Permanent for €26m.
Irish Life was subsequently separated from the banking operations of Permanent TSB and prepared for a future sale.
Before regulatory approval of the deal, Irish Life must pay a dividend of €40m to the state.
Irish Life group chief executive Kevin Murphy described the deal as “transformational” for the company, saying it provided Irish Life with “financial strength and stability”.
“Combining the businesses of Irish Life and Canada Life (Ireland) represents a transformational deal in the Irish market and we expect that the combined business will continue to set the pace in the life and pensions industry in Ireland,” he added.
