SunAmerica to Buy John Alden Unit

Los Angeles-based SunAmerica Inc. said it will buy $5 billion worth of annuity reserves from John Alden Financial Corp. for undisclosed terms. The purchase would include “substantially all” of John Alden’s annuity business and comes as the company focuses on its health insurance business, said Chris Wells, a spokeswoman for Miami-based John Alden. The company said in March that it would sell its annuity and credit life and disability units as part of that focus. The agreement comes on the heels of a filing by SunAmerica with the Securities and Exchange Commission in which the company said it was considering a purchase worth $200 million to $300 million, said Karel Carnohan, a SunAmerica vice president. Analysts estimated in March that John Alden’s annuity business could fetch $275 million in a sale. SunAmerica has snapped up about $4.6 billion worth of annuities in three purchases during the past year. It now has a total portfolio of about $10 billion. Shares of SunAmerica rose $1.50 to $43 on NYSE.