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British Insurer Aviva to Buy AmerUs

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From the Associated Press

Aviva said Thursday that it would take over U.S. life insurance company AmerUs Group Co. in a $2.9-billion deal that would expand the British insurer’s reach into the U.S. market.

Des Moines-based AmerUs is the largest provider by sales of indexed life insurance products in the United States and one of the country’s top five providers of indexed annuities.

AmerUs has 1,190 workers, about 600 of whom are based in Des Moines. Other offices are located in Topeka, Kan., Indianapolis and Woodbury, N.Y.

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London-based Aviva has long said it wanted to expand in the United States. Aviva’s U.S. operation is based in Boston, where it has about 390 employees.

Aviva would pay $69 in cash for each AmerUs share, a 10% premium to the closing price of July 6 -- the day before Aviva confirmed that the companies were in talks. Shares of AmerUs rose 31 cents to finish at $66.81.

Martin Ketelaar, AmerUs vice president for investor relations, said Aviva wanted AmerUs to serve as its platform in the United States for growth.

The deal is subject to AmerUs shareholder approval.

Aviva will combine AmerUs with its Aviva U.S. unit, and the business will use the Aviva name. Tom Godlasky, AmerUs’ chief executive, will head the U.S. operation.

AmerUs has about $25 billion in assets, compared with Aviva’s U.S. holdings of about $6 billion.

“In a single move, the combination of AmerUs’ national distribution networks and the resources and expertise of Aviva provides the platform for significant profitable growth in the U.S.,” said Richard Harvey, Aviva’s group chief executive.

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Earlier this year, Aviva’s $30-billion proposal to buy smaller rival Prudential Financial Inc. of Newark, N.J., was rebuffed.

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