Sun Life completes sale of its UK business
Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSX: SLF) (NYSE: SLF) announced today it has completed the sale of SLF of Canada UK Limited (“Sun Life UK”) to Phoenix Group Holdings plc (“Phoenix Group”) (LSE: PHNX). Headquartered in London, Phoenix Group is the UK’s largest long-term savings and retirement business with more than 12 million customers and £260 billion of assets under administration.
This transaction will see Sun Life UK’s life and pension policies and annuity blocks for UK Clients move to Phoenix Group. Sun Life UK has been closed to new sales and has been operating as a run-off business in the life and pension policies segment since 2001. Sun Life will retain its economic interest in UK’s payout annuities business.
As part of the sale, Sun Life will begin a long-term partnership to become a strategic asset management partner to Phoenix Group. Sun Life’s asset management companies, MFS and SLC Management, will continue to manage approximately C$8 billion of Sun Life UK’s general account.
Phoenix Group has set a goal to invest approximately US$25 billion in North American public and private fixed income and alternative investments over the next five years. MFS and SLC Management will be material partners to Phoenix Group in achieving this goal.
Capital Product Partners L.P. Announces the Acquisition of One LNG Carrier, the Acquisition of Three 13,278 TEU Container Vessels and the Sale of Two 8,266 TEU Container Vessels
Capital Product Partners L.P., an international owner of ocean-going vessels, announced:
The acquisition of one 174,000 cubic meter (“cbm”) latest generation X-DF LNG carrier (“LNG/C”) and three 13,278 TEU hybrid scrubber-fitted, latest generation eco container vessels, all with long term charters attached, for total consideration of $597.5 million; andThe sale of two 8,266 TEU container vessels, namely the M/V Archimidis and the M/V Agamemnon, for total consideration of $130.0 million.
Acquisition of One 174,000 cbm LNG/C & Three 13,278 TEU Container Vessels
The Partnership announced that it has agreed to exercise its right of first offer and acquire one 174,000 cbm latest generation X-DF LNG/C and three 13,278 TEU hybrid scrubber-fitted Tier III and Phase III, dual fuel ready eco container sister vessels from Capital Maritime & Trading Corp. (the “Seller”), for total consideration of $597.5 million.
The LNG/C, to be named “Asterix I”, is currently under construction by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., South Korea, and is expected to be delivered to the Partnership in January 2023 upon its delivery from the shipyard. The LNG/C Asterix I comes with a long-term time charter with Hartree Partners Power & Gas Company (UK) Limited (“Hartree”) for a firm period of 5 years, which, together with the optional period, expires in 2031.
The three 13,278 TEU eco container sister vessels, to be named “Manzanillo Express”, “Itajai Express” and “Buenaventura Express”, are currently under construction by Hyundai Samho Industries Co. Ltd., South Korea, and are scheduled for delivery to the Partnership in October 2022, January 2023 and May 2023, upon their respective delivery from the shipyard. The vessels have secured long-term time charters with Hapag Lloyd Aktiengesellschaft for a firm period of 10 years which, together with the optional periods, expire between October 2038 and May 2039.
The total consideration for the four vessels amounts to $597.5 million and is expected to be financed with approximately $122.0 million of cash, $468.0 million of debt and $7.5 million in CPLP common units. These acquisitions are expected to generate approximately $73.4 million of annual gross revenue over the firm period of the charters. The vessels will be paid for upon the delivery of each ship. The issuance of common units to the Seller will occur upon the delivery of the first vessel, the M/V Manzanillo Express.
Sale of Two 8,266 TEU Container Vessels
On May 30, 2022, the Partnership entered into a memorandum of agreement for the sale of M/V Archimidis (108,892 dwt / 8,266 TEU, container carrier built 2006, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd., South Korea) and M/V Agamemnon (108,892 dwt / 8,266 TEU, container carrier built 2007, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd., South Korea) to an unaffiliated third party for total consideration of $130.0 million. Delivery of the two vessels to their buyer is expected in the third quarter of 2022. The estimated carrying value of the M/V Archimidis and the M/V Agamemnon as of May 30, 2022 was approximately $38.7 million and $41.8 million respectively resulting in an expected gain of approximately $49.5 million. The Partnership expects to generate gross cash proceeds from the sale, after repaying outstanding debt, of approximately $99.5 million (based on the debt amount outstanding and vessel charter-free fair market values as of March 31, 2022).
Mr. Jerry Kalogiratos, Chief Executive Officer of the Partnership’s General Partner, commented:
“We are very pleased to announce today two important transactions for the Partnership. The divestment of our two oldest container vessels allows the Partnership to benefit from the historically high container market and is in line with our strategy of divesting older vessels. At the same time, we are replacing a sixteen- and a fifteen-year-old vessel, both of which have less than two years remaining charter duration, and redeploying the equity released from the sale into four brand new, latest generation LNG and container carriers with firm charters in place of minimum 8.8 years duration and $580.7 million of contracted revenue. On a fully-delivered basis, these transactions will reduce the average age of our fleet by approximately 2.9 years. We expect the acquisitions to be accretive across all financial metrics, increasing our distributable cash flow, further extending our cash flow visibility, while continuing to replenish the average age of our fleet and reducing its carbon intensity.”
The transaction was negotiated and unanimously approved by the conflicts committee of the Board of Directors (“Committee”) and was also unanimously approved by the full Board of Directors. Evercore Group L.L.C. served as financial advisor and Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP served as legal advisors to the Committee.
Argo Group Announced the Sale of ArgoGlobal SE
Argo Group International Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: ARGO), an underwriter of specialty insurance, announced an agreement to sell its Malta business operations, ArgoGlobal Holdings (Malta) Ltd. and its subsidiaries, to Riverstone Holdings Limited (part of the RiverStone International group), an industry-leading acquirer and reinsurer of legacy and discontinued insurance businesses. Closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to occur during the first half of 2022.
“This sale supports our strategy to focus on U.S.-based specialty insurance risks,” said Andy Borst, interim president of international operations. ArgoGlobal SE business was primarily focused on insuring risks in Europe and has not been actively underwriting business since 2020.
“We are delighted to have executed a second legacy transaction with the Argo Group, which strengthens our important business relationship,” said Luke Tanzer, RiverStone International’s CEO. “We look forward to working closely with Argo through the completion phase and to continue to service ArgoGlobal SE policyholders and claimants to the high standards currently provided.”
The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Aviva completes sale of Aviva France for £2.8 billion*
Aviva plc (“Aviva”) announced the completion of the sale of its French business to Aéma Groupe and has received £2.8 billion1 (€3.2 billion) in cash consideration. The transaction was announced on 23 February 2021.
Amanda Blanc, Group Chief Executive Officer, said:
“This is a very significant step forward for Aviva. It greatly simplifies the company as we focus on our core businesses in the UK, Ireland and Canada.
“I am confident that Aéma, with its strong insurance heritage and reputation, will be an excellent owner of Aviva France. I wish the business and all its people every success for the future.”
Safe Bulkers, Inc. Announces Sale of one Kamsarmax Vessel
Safe Bulkers, Inc. (the Company) (NYSE: SB), an international provider of marine drybulk transportation services, announced that it has entered into an agreement for the sale of MV Pedhoulas Fighter, a 2012 Chinese-built, Kamsarmax class, dry-bulk vessel at gross sale price of $23.7 million and forward delivery date within the fourth quarter of 2021.
Including this agreement and the previously announced agreements, the Company has sold seven vessels, has acquired four second-hand vessels and has ordered eight Japanese newbuild vessels with deliveries starting from Q2 2022 until Q1 2024.
Dr. Loukas Barmparis, President of the Company commented: “With the sale of MV Pedhoulas Fighter we conclude the sale of three sisterships, Kamsarmax class, Chinese-built vessels, gradually renewing our fleet with modern more efficient Japanese built newbuilds or Japanese-built younger vessels.”
NN Group and Goldman Sachs reach agreement on the sale of NN IP
NN Group announces that it has reached an agreement to sell its asset manager NN Investment Partners (NN IP) to Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. for total cash proceeds of EUR 1.7 billion, consisting of a base purchase price of EUR 1,515 million, a ticking fee and excess capital to be distributed in the form of a dividend before completion. As part of the agreement, NN Group and Goldman Sachs Asset Management will enter into a ten-year strategic partnership under which the combined company will continue to provide asset management services to NN Group.
David Knibbe, CEO of NN Group: ‘NN Group and NN IP have a long-standing and successful shared history. We value this strong and constructive relationship that we have and we look forward to further building on it in a new form. This transaction brings together two international asset managers, each with many decades of investment experience. We have found a strong and professional partner in Goldman Sachs, providing an environment in which our NN IP colleagues can continue to thrive, while the combined investment expertise and scale will enhance the service offering to NN IP’s clients, including NN Group. This transaction will also give NN Group greater optionality to develop a broader range of asset management propositions for our customers. Our approach and ambitions around ESG will remain unchanged and Goldman Sachs shares our commitment to responsible investing. On behalf of the Management Board of NN Group, I would like to thank our colleagues at NN IP for their drive, commitment and continuing focus on clients.’
David Solomon, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs: ‘This acquisition allows us to accelerate our growth strategy and broaden our asset management platform. NN Investment Partners offers a leading European client franchise and an extension of our strength in insurance asset management. Across NN Investment Partners’ offerings they have been successful in integrating sustainability which mirrors our own level of ambition to put responsible investing and stewardship at the heart of our business. We look forward to partnering with the team at NN Investment Partners as we focus on delivering long-term value to our clients and our shareholders.’
As of today, Satish Bapat will step down from his role as a member of the Management Board of NN Group. Satish will continue to lead NN IP in his role as CEO.
At closing, the transaction is expected to have a positive impact on the NN Group Solvency II ratio of approximately 17%-points. Following the closing of this transaction, NN Group expects to have excess capital which will be available for additional returns to shareholders over time unless used for value-creating opportunities, in accordance with NN Group’s capital framework. We expect to make announcements on the additional returns to shareholders at the publication of the second half-year 2021 results. Considering this transaction, the acquisitions announced earlier this year, as well as the strong financial and commercial performance across the business units, NN Group’s operating capital generation (OCG) target remains unchanged at EUR 1.5 billion in 2023.
Closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including obtaining the necessary regulatory and competition clearances and consultation of the NN IP works council in the Netherlands, and is expected to take place by the first quarter of 2022.
Aon closer to WTW merger with sale of US retirement businesses
— Transactions provide further momentum on path to close proposed combination with Willis Towers Watson, which is designed to accelerate innovation on behalf of clients
— Aon confirms $800 million of cost synergies1 and expects the combination to create significant shareholder value
AON, a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions, announced the firm has signed definitive agreements to sell its U.S. retirement business to Aquiline and its Aon Retiree Health Exchange™ business to Alight for total gross consideration of $1.4 billion.
The agreements are intended to address certain questions raised by the U.S. Department of Justice in relation to the combination with respect to the markets in which these businesses are active. Aon and Willis Towers Watson continue to work toward obtaining regulatory approval in all relevant jurisdictions.
“These agreements further accelerate our momentum to close our proposed combination with Willis Towers Watson,” said Greg Case, Aon’s CEO. “These are very capable teams that have demonstrated exceptional dedication to our clients and our firm. I want to recognize their contributions and reinforce that we are confident they will have similar opportunities with Aquiline and Alight.”
The proposed combination of Aon and Willis Towers Watson would build on the firm’s track record of progress on key financial metrics and achievement over the past decade. As previously disclosed, the pending combination with Willis Towers Watson is expected to deliver:
Revenue growth, margin expansion through the delivery of better solutions, increased cash flow and earnings growth and a strong balance sheet, to generate attractive returns for shareholders in the future.
$800 million of cost synergies1, taking into account announced divestitures and other potential remedies.
Allocation of any divestiture proceeds according to its Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) framework, in which the firm expects that share buyback will continue to be its highest return activity.
Accretion to adjusted EPS, reflecting the synergy potential of the combination, consistent with initially announced accretion projections in year three and over the long term.2,3
Aon and Willis Towers Watson have previously announced the divestiture of Willis Re, a set of Willis Towers Watson corporate risk and broking and health and benefits services, and Aon’s retirement and investment business in Germany. Total 2020 revenue announced or offered to be divested, contingent on the combination, is $2.3 billion. Of the $2.3 billion, approximately 35% occurred in Q1, 23% in Q2, 18% in Q3, and 24% in Q4.
The U.S. retirement business Aquiline will acquire includes approximately 1000 colleagues and the agreement includes U.S. core retirement consulting, U.S. pension administration and the U.S.-based portion of Aon’s international retirement consulting business, along with many solutions and tools, including:
Benefit Index and SpecSelect
Risk Analyzer
DBCalc and YPR
Aon Pooled Employer Plan (PEP)
The agreement with Aquiline does not include Aon’s non-U.S. actuarial, non-U.S. pension administration or international retirement businesses based outside of the U.S.
Aquiline Capital Partners is a private investment firm based in New York and London that invests in companies across financial services, technology, business services, and healthcare. With $6.4 billion in assets under management, the firm has successfully invested in numerous businesses that help people plan and save for retirement.
“The retirement solutions sector is benefitting from an increased focus on long-term investment security and risk management of plans,” said Jeff Greenberg, Aquiline’s Chairman and CEO. “Aquiline’s significant experience across retirement and investments positions us to build on the strong business Aon has created. We look forward to working closely with the clients, management and colleagues of Aon’s U.S. retirement business to create further value for all stakeholders.”
The Aon Retiree Health Exchange™, which Alight will acquire, is an individual market solution that better supports employers and their retirees. It was the first retiree exchange to meet the National Council on Aging (NCOA) standards and continues to meet or exceed those rigorous standards of excellence in consumer education and health insurance brokerage services for people with Medicare.
Alight leverages its proprietary AI and data analytics to optimize business process as a service (BPaaS) to deliver superior outcomes for employees and employers across a comprehensive portfolio of services. Alight allows employees to enrich their health, wealth and work while enabling global organizations to achieve a high-performance culture. Helping clients of all sizes, including 70 percent of the Fortune 100, Alight’s 15,000 colleagues serve more than 30 million employees and family members.
All of the announced regulatory divestitures are contingent on the completion of the pending Aon and Willis Towers Watson combination, as well as other customary closing conditions. While Aon and WTW are working toward completing the proposed combination as soon as possible in the third quarter of 2021, the completion remains subject to the receipt of required regulatory approvals and clearances, including with respect to United States antitrust laws, as well as other customary closing conditions.
1 There are various material assumptions underlying the synergies, which may result in the synergies and other cost reductions being materially greater or less than estimated. The estimates should therefore be read in conjunction with the bases and assumptions for these synergy numbers, which are set out in Appendix I of the Rule 2.5 Announcement made on March 9th, 2020, along with the reports accompanying such statements in Appendix 4 and Appendix 5 to the Rule 2.5 Announcement.
2 This statement should not be construed as a profit forecast or interpreted to mean that the profits or earnings of Aon will necessarily match or be greater than or be less than those for the relevant preceding financial period or any other period.
3 Statements in this announcement that the combination of Aon and Willis Towers Watson is accretive to adjusted EPS should not be interpreted to mean that Aon earnings per share in the current or any future financial period will necessarily match or be greater than or be less than those for the relevant preceding financial period.
Metlife completes sale of auto & home business to Zurich Insurance Group Subsidiary Farmers Group, Inc.
MetLife, Inc. announced the completion of its sale of Metropolitan Property and Casualty Insurance Company and certain wholly-owned subsidiaries to Farmers Group, Inc., a subsidiary of Zurich Insurance Group, for a purchase price of $3.94 billion in cash.
In addition, MetLife and Farmers Exchanges have established a 10-year strategic partnership through which Farmers Insurance® (Farmers) will offer personal lines products on MetLife’s industry-leading U.S. Group Benefits platform, which reaches 3,800 employers and approximately 37 million eligible employees. Farmers assumes responsibility for MetLife’s previous retail property and casualty customers.
“We look forward to continuing to deliver a broad range of benefits that meet the needs of our group customers, maintaining strong relationships with our distribution partners, and ensuring employees across the U.S. have access to auto and home coverage through our relationship with Farmers,” said Ramy Tadros, president, U.S. Business, MetLife.
Sale of vessel Polar Queen
GC Rieber Shipping has entered into an agreement to sell the IMR / Walk-to-Work vessel Polar Queen, built at Freire Shipyard in 2011.
The gangway onboard the vessel is excluded from the sale and will remain an asset for GC Rieber Shipping’s vessels.
The sale is expected to be completed in March 2021 and will result in a positive liquidity effect of approximately NOK 22 million after repayment of the vessel`s outstanding debt.The sale to the undisclosed buyer will see the vessel leave the offshore industry.
“This is the second sale of vessels since August 2020 and provides GC Rieber Shipping with a further strengthened balance sheet, enabling us to deliver on our strategy to develop new profitable and sustainable maritime projects”, Einar Ytredal, CEO of GC Rieber Shipping commented.
Source: GC Rieber Shipping
Euronav Announces Sale And Leaseback Of VLCC Newton
Euronav NV announces that it has entered into a sale and leaseback agreement for the VLCC Newton (2009 – 307,284) with Taiping & Sinopec Financial Leasing Ltd Co. The vessel was sold for USD 36 million.
The transaction produced a capital gain of about USD 2.4 million. After repayment of the existing debt, the transaction generated USD 19 million free cash. The vessels were delivered to their new owners on February 22th, 2021. Arctic acted as the sole financial advisor in this transaction.
Euronav has leased back the vessel under a 36-months bareboat contract1 at an average rate of USD 22,500 per day. At the end of the bareboat contract, the vessel will be redelivered to its owners.
Euronav CEO Hugo De Stoop, states: “Euronav is pleased that we managed to execute another transaction with this leading Chinese counterparty, as it is a trusted partner. By securing an excellent price for this vessel, we maintain the capability to purchase younger tonnage, using the generated revenues. This is consistent with our approach on fleet renewal.”