Canada Life Europe, which is headquartered in Dublin and employs 460 in the State, is to acquire Prudential plc's German life operations for €129 million.
The business, which trades under the SALI brand name, will be integrated into Canada Life's existing German operations. The acquisition means Canada Life Europe will now become the market leader in the German serious illness market.
The deal involves the sale of SALI's 115,00 life assurance policies in Germany to Canada Life along with SALI's sales and marketing division. In total, 65 staff working for SALI in Ireland and 167 SALI staff in Germany will transfer to Canada Life. Both Canada Life and Prudential said the transaction would not result in any job losses at their Irish bases.
Prudential, which employs 370 in Dublin, said it would retain a Dublin workforce of just over 300 after the 65 staff transfer to Canada Life under the terms of the deal. Canada Life said synergies from the transaction would result in reduced costs but there were no plans to shed jobs. A spokesman said the firm expected to recruit an unspecified number of staff almost immediately.
The acquisition is expected to close on January 1st but will still require High Court approval for the transfer of the German life policies to Canada Life in Ireland. It aims to be earnings-neutral in the first year but to add €4.4 million to the company's earnings in 2004.
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