Insurer Phoenix Group on Tuesday said it had sold its Ark Life Assurance unit to Irish Life for €230m (£197m).
“This transaction simplifies our European operations and accelerates the cash release from this business. The group expects to redeploy the capital into higher return growth opportunities to drive incremental future cash generation,” the company said in a statement.
Ark Life is a closed book business which manages heritage savings and protection products in Ireland, and was acquired by Phoenix as part of the ReAssure acquisition in 2020. Ark Life contributed £1.8bn of assets under administration to Phoenix’s Heritage division at December 31, 2020.
Irish Life already operates Ark Life’s policy administration and investment management under an outsourcing agreement.
Phoenix said it continued to progress “a range of management actions to maximise shareholder value from its remaining European business, Standard Life International DAC, which provides strategic optionality to the group over the longer term”.
