Life insurance provider Phoenix Group confirmed it will buy the Standard Life brand after media speculation.
The deal comes after Phoenix acquired Standard Life Assurance in 2018, when the two firms also entered into a strategic partnership and Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) became a leading shareholder in Phoenix.
Its current shareholding is of around 14%.
As part of the M&A deal, Phoenix will sell its Standard Life Assurance UK investment platform-related products, which include the Wrap Sipp, Onshore Bond and UK Trustee Investment Plan, to SLA for a cash consideration of £115m ($161m, €133m).
In return, Phoenix will acquire the whole Standard Life brand. This means that the 2018 partnership agreement will be dissolved.
At the same time, however, the two firms will re-enter into a 10-year strategic asset management partnership, which will see Phoenix leveraging the portfolio management and investment strategy capabilities of Aberdeen Standard Investments.
Terms of the deal
SLA products will continue to be marketed under the Standard Life brand, as they have been for the last 200 years.
The brand will be used for the firm’s open business within the retirement and savings market as well.
Additionally, a number of SLA retail advisers, distribution, marketing and data members of staff will be transferred to Phoenix, mainly based in Edinburgh.
Andy Briggs, chief executive of Phoenix Group, said: “This agreement is a natural progression of our strong strategic partnership with SLA and significantly simplifies our relationship. I am delighted that Phoenix now owns all of the life and pensions business of Standard Life, including the brand and all distribution and marketing, and we are committed to investing in this business.
“This will enable Phoenix to accelerate the delivery of a broader set of product and service propositions to meet the financial needs of our customers as they journey to and through retirement.”
Stephen Bird, chief executive of Standard Life Aberdeen, added: “This agreement builds on the strong foundations of our long-standing relationship with Phoenix and the simplification of our strategic partnership enables both groups to focus the partnership on the provision of Standard Life Aberdeen’s high-quality asset management services to Phoenix and its customers.”
