It appears there is a hot sale in the works – and if you’ve got a cool £2.5 billion handy, then you might just be in the running.
Life insurance consolidator Viridium Group is reportedly attracting interest from the likes of Athora, the Apollo Global Management affiliate, and Resolution Life, which is backed by Blackstone Inc. A deal could see the company valued in the region of three billion euros (more than £2.5 billion).
In a Bloomberg report, it was also outlined from confidential sources that investment firm Sixth Street is likely to be in the running. The sources asked not to be identified with the information remaining private.
Currently considered one of the largest asset managers and consolidators of back books in Europe, Viridium Group is backed by Cinven. It is based close to the German financial hub of Frankfurt and is said to have around 67 billion euros in assets under management, reporting a net income of €325 million last year. It holds around 3.4 million policies.
The company was originally founded back in 2014 by both Cinven and Hannover Re, as Heidelberger Leben Group. It was subsequently renamed and currently counts both Hannover and Generali among its stakeholders.
Cinven has reportedly been working with advisors at Fenchurch Advisory and Goldman Sachs Group to find potential suitors – and it is likely to draw interest from US life insurance consolidators that are looking to expand further into Europe.
Private equity firms have been looking closely at firms that handle legacy policies with insurance companies looking to offload assets and free up capital. At Viridium, chief executive officer Tilo Dresig told reporters back in May that asset managers and larger insurance companies could be among potential suitors with the company looking at buyers with long-term investments in mind.
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