Standard Life buys Aegon's UK business for £2bn in pensions push
Standard Life has agreed to buy the UK arm of Dutch insurer Aegon for £2billion, in a further bid to grow its share of the pensions market. The FTSE 100 firm, formerly Phoenix Group, said the cash-and-share deal will create the country's largest pensions group, with 16 million customers and £480billion of assets under administration. The deal will see Standard Life pay £750million in cash and issue 181.1million new shares to Aegon, meaning the Dutch insurer will hold a 15.3 per cent stake in the group. Aegon announced in December that it was weighing a sale of its UK insurance business, which has more than 3.5 million customers, as part of its push into the US. As part of the move, Aegon will relocate its headquarters to the US and rename itself Transamerica Inc. Standard Life has come out on top in the battle for Aegon UK, after the Dutch insurer reportedly attracted interest from the Royal Bank of Canada, Lloyds and Royal London. It is the latest sign of increased competition among pension providers looking to boost their customer bases and expand their offerings. Standard Life boss Andy Briggs said the deal 'accelerates' plans to be country's leading pensions groupChief executive Andy Briggs said: 'Our agreement to acquire Aegon UK significantly accelerates our vision to be the UK's leading retirement savings and income business. We will be in an even stronger position to meet the evolving needs of our 16 million customers'Together, we will not only be stronger, we will be better - helping our customers achieve better outcomes and greater financial security in later life. 'I look forward to welcoming everyone at Aegon UK to Standard Life in due course and working together to capture the huge potential in front of us.'Shares in Standard Life rose 1.4 per cent to 723.8p. Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club said: 'The UK has an ageing population and big pension adequacy gap, with more than half of current savers expected to struggle financially unless they up contributions, which offers big opportunities ahead for Standard Life.' This is a developing story DIY INVESTING PLATFORMSAJ BellAJ BellEasy investing and ready-made portfoliosHargreaves LansdownHargreaves LansdownFree fund dealing and investment ideasinteractive investorinteractive investorFlat-fee investing from £4.99 per monthFreetradeFreetradeInvesting Isa now free on basic planTrading 212Trading 212Free share dealing and no account feeAffiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.Compare the best investing account for you
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Standard Life buys Aegon's UK business for £2bn in pensions push
