Great-West Lifeco Inc. has signed a deal to sell its U.S. annuity and individual life insurance businesses to a subsidiary of Protective Life Corp. for $1.6 billion.
Paul Mahon, president and chief executive officer at Great-West Life, says the deal will let the company focus on retirement and asset management markets in the U.S.
Protective Life is acquiring bank-owned and corporate-owned life insurance, single premium life insurance, individual annuities and closed block life insurance and annuities.
Read: Great-West Lifeco’s net earnings up 24% in first quarter
Great-West Life says the business contributed about $120 million to its net earnings for the first three quarters of 2018. It expects a closing a book value loss of about $93 million and transaction costs of $76 million.
The deal, which is expected to close in the first half of this year, is subject to regulatory and customary closing conditions.