PIC to be bought by Athora for £5.7bn
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Athora Holding has agreed to acquire Pension Insurance Corporation Group, the parent of the bulk annuity provider, for roughly £5.7bn. The transaction is expected to close in early 2026 subject to regulatory approval.
PIC has a portfolio of £50.9bn backing the pensions of 400,000 people. The specialist insurer said the deal will allow it to provide its best pricing across a larger number of pension risk transfer deals.
Athora focuses on the life and pensions market, having insurance businesses in Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, alongside a reinsurance business in Bermuda. The group looks after a combined €76bn (£65.5bn) of assets on behalf of 2.8m policyholders. It was founded in 2018 after splitting from Athene. In 2021, Athora Netherlands completed a pension risk transfer with the Atradius pension fund.
“PIC has had an amazing growth story over the past two decades and is now one of Britain's pre-eminent pension businesses,” said PIC’s chief executive Tracy Blackwell, who in February announced her plan to retire.
“With Athora backing us through our next phase of growth as their UK insurance business, we will be able to provide more options to the trustees of defined benefit pension schemes and invest more in UK housing and infrastructure,” she added. PIC has invested £13.8bn in UK housing and infrastructure to date.
Mike Wells, chief executive of Athora, said: “We have followed PIC’s progress for several years and been consistently impressed by the very high quality business the PIC team has built. As our UK subsidiary, PIC will be the largest business within the Athora Group and we intend to invest in the business and its people to support that growth in the UK pension risk transfer market. We have great confidence in the long-term strengths of the UK: its retirement market, regulatory and policy framework, and economic prospects.”
Once the acquisition is complete, PIC expects to be worth 45% of Athora’s total AuM. As the UK insurance business of Athora, it will continue operating under the PIC brand.
Athora’s shareholders include a strategic minority investment by Apollo Global Management and Athene Holding, as well as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
PIC Group’s current shareholders are Reinet Fund, which holds 49.5%, a wholly owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority with 18.4%, funds managed by CVC Capital Partners with 17.4%, and funds managed by HPS Investment Partners with 10.2%, as well as employees and other shareholders, who hold about 4% of the issued shares.
The UK buyout market’s success – last year, £47.8bn of liabilities was transacted according to LCP – is attracting international capital. In March this year, Blumont Annuity became available for deals, backed by Canadian investment behemoth Brookfield.
Between 2023 and 2024, PIC maintained its rank as number three in the UK risk transfer market by volume written, according to LCP, with its market share growing from 14% to 17% over the period, just behind Legal & General and slightly ahead of Aviva. The largest deal announced this year so far is a £900m triple buy-in with pension schemes of Baker Hughes.
Earlier this year, PIC was making efforts to counter government plans for letting companies access the surplus of ongoing DB schemes, arguing that pension savers were afraid of the consequences. Acknowledging PIC’s interest in the debate, Blackwell said in April that “it is fundamentally right that members’ benefits are fully secured before the sponsoring employer gets any cash back – a position which should align everyone’s interests”.
PIC has a portfolio of £50.9bn backing the pensions of 400,000 people. The specialist insurer said the deal will allow it to provide its best pricing across a larger number of pension risk transfer deals.
Athora focuses on the life and pensions market, having insurance businesses in Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, alongside a reinsurance business in Bermuda. The group looks after a combined €76bn (£65.5bn) of assets on behalf of 2.8m policyholders. It was founded in 2018 after splitting from Athene. In 2021, Athora Netherlands completed a pension risk transfer with the Atradius pension fund.
“PIC has had an amazing growth story over the past two decades and is now one of Britain's pre-eminent pension businesses,” said PIC’s chief executive Tracy Blackwell, who in February announced her plan to retire.
“With Athora backing us through our next phase of growth as their UK insurance business, we will be able to provide more options to the trustees of defined benefit pension schemes and invest more in UK housing and infrastructure,” she added. PIC has invested £13.8bn in UK housing and infrastructure to date.
Mike Wells, chief executive of Athora, said: “We have followed PIC’s progress for several years and been consistently impressed by the very high quality business the PIC team has built. As our UK subsidiary, PIC will be the largest business within the Athora Group and we intend to invest in the business and its people to support that growth in the UK pension risk transfer market. We have great confidence in the long-term strengths of the UK: its retirement market, regulatory and policy framework, and economic prospects.”
Once the acquisition is complete, PIC expects to be worth 45% of Athora’s total AuM. As the UK insurance business of Athora, it will continue operating under the PIC brand.
Athora’s shareholders include a strategic minority investment by Apollo Global Management and Athene Holding, as well as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
PIC Group’s current shareholders are Reinet Fund, which holds 49.5%, a wholly owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority with 18.4%, funds managed by CVC Capital Partners with 17.4%, and funds managed by HPS Investment Partners with 10.2%, as well as employees and other shareholders, who hold about 4% of the issued shares.
The UK buyout market’s success – last year, £47.8bn of liabilities was transacted according to LCP – is attracting international capital. In March this year, Blumont Annuity became available for deals, backed by Canadian investment behemoth Brookfield.
Between 2023 and 2024, PIC maintained its rank as number three in the UK risk transfer market by volume written, according to LCP, with its market share growing from 14% to 17% over the period, just behind Legal & General and slightly ahead of Aviva. The largest deal announced this year so far is a £900m triple buy-in with pension schemes of Baker Hughes.
Earlier this year, PIC was making efforts to counter government plans for letting companies access the surplus of ongoing DB schemes, arguing that pension savers were afraid of the consequences. Acknowledging PIC’s interest in the debate, Blackwell said in April that “it is fundamentally right that members’ benefits are fully secured before the sponsoring employer gets any cash back – a position which should align everyone’s interests”.
