Resolution Life Agrees to Pay $902 Million for Voya's Individual Life Business

A company that hauls away life insurers’ unwanted blocks of business has agreed to buy Voya Financial Inc.’s remaining blocks of individual life, individual annuity and pension risk transfer business.

Resolution Life Group Holdings Ltd. plans to pay Voya $902 million in cash up front for the unwanted blocks of business, Resolution Life announced today.

Voya could get an additional $123 million in cash if the blocks do well over the five-year period after the deal is completed, and Voya will receive a $225 million stake in Resolution Life, Resolution Life said.

The deal could have a total value of $1.25 billion, according to Resolution Life.

The companies hope to complete the deal by Sept. 30, 2020.

The Players

Voya is a New York-based financial services company that holds ING Groep N.V.’s old U.S. insurance and financial services operations. ING itself acquired businesses from many sellers over the years, including Security Life of Denver and Aetna Inc.

ING ran into trouble during the 2007-2009 Great Recession. When the Dutch government provided financial support to help ING get through the crisis, officials required the company to divest itself of its U.S. financial services operations.

Voya became an independent company with stock that trades on the New York Stock Exchange. It transferred responsibility for a large block of business, including the bulk of its annuity business, to Athene Holdings Ltd. in 2018.

Rodney Martin Jr., Voya’s chairman, said in Voya’s deal announcement that the company plans to invest much of the cash from the deal in its retirement plan, investment management, and employee benefits businesses.

“This transaction completes the restructuring effort that began with our initial public offering in 2013, begins a new chapter in Voya’s future, and will further distinguish Voya from its competitors as a company with a compelling business mix,” Martin said.

Deal Details

The Resolution Life-Voya deal would give Resolution Life control over a number of legal entities now owned by Voya, according to an investor presentation slidedeck Voya has filed with the SEC.

The slidedeck shows that Resolution Life would end up with Security Life of Denver Insurance Company, Midwestern United Life Insurance Company, Security Life of Denver International Ltd., Voya America Equities, Roaring River IV Holding LLC, and Roaring River II Inc.

Resolution Life would put those businesses in a new Resolution Life US holding company.

Voya would continue to own some entities held in its Connecticut-based Voya Holdings unit, but Security Life of Denver would reinsure those units’ blocks of business.

Resolution Life would hired the acquired businesses’ employees and take over product administration, according to Voya.

The business involved in the deal has $24 billion in general account assets. Voya’s investment management arm would manage $20 billion of the Resolution Life US assets, according to Voya.