A British insurance giant has closed on a $3.1 billion acquisition of a major player in the U.S. equity-indexed annuity and equity-indexed life insurance markets.
Aviva P.L.C., London, says it already has started integrating the operations of the deal’s target, AmerUs Group Company, Des Moines, Iowa, with its own U.S. operations.
Aviva generates the equivalent of about $63 billion in sales per year. It is the largest insurer in the United Kingdom and the 5th largest in the world.
AmerUs reported $191 million in net income in 2005 on $1.6 billion in revenue.
Although Aviva is much larger than AmerUs worldwide, completing the AmerUs deal will give Aviva a strong position in the U.S. savings market, Aviva says.
Aviva is locating the headquarters of the combined U.S. operations in Des Moines under the direction of Thomas Godlasky, who has been the CEO of AmerUs.
Godlasky will keep the CEO title, but Philip Easter, finance director of Aviva’s U.K. general insurance business, is taking over from Melinda Urion, the current AmerUs chief financial officer, as CFO.