Irish Life parent circles Dublin-based Standard Life International
European Life Group also bidding to take over both Standard Life and Ark Life
Nigel Dunne, chief executive of Standard Life International, with then-chief executive David Nish in 2011. Photograph: Marc O’Sullivan
Irish Life’s Canadian parent, Great-West Lifeco, is one of two bidders vying to take over Dublin-based Standard Life International and Ark Life, according to sources.
The businesses are being sold by London-listed insurance services company Phoenix Group and are grouped together under the umbrella name of Phoenix Europe. The other final bidder in the process is European Life Group (ELG), an affiliate of San Francisco-based investment firm Sixth Street. The value of the bids are not known.