The Swiss Re business unit announced on Wednesday it had agreed the purchase of the company, which trades as Guardian Financial Services, for £1.6bn ($2.4bn, €2.2bn).
The acquisition from private equity firm Cinven is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to complete in early 2016.
With plans for both organic growth and future acquisitions, Admin Re chief executive Bob Ratcliffe assured customers they would receive the “same seamless service” as he said all policyholders and staff will transfer across as part of the deal.
Swiss Re believes the deal will spur Admin Re’s ambitions to become a leading player in the UK closed life consolidation business, as well as diversifying its commercial portfolio.
The deal will contribute a loss to Swiss Re of approximately $900m (£589.7m) at inception, but the reinsurer is confident Guardian will generate a positive contribution to its net worth over time, supporting its focus on “long-term value generation.”
Ratcliffe said: “Admin Re has an expert team and the infrastructure in place to ensure we can bring the benefits of scale that make a closed life book consolidator successful.
“[We] have a long track record of migrating life portfolios and maintaining a high level of customer service for policyholders. We expect that after this acquisition, we will continue to seek growth via other acquisition opportunities, developing further our leading consolidation franchise.”
