European savings and retirement services group Athora to acquire Pension Insurance Corporation Group
- Ownership of Pension Insurance Corporation Group (“PICG”), ultimate parent company of the specialist insurer of UK defined benefit pension schemes Pension Insurance Corporation (“PIC”), to transition to a single and strategic owner
- PICG will become the UK insurance business of Athora and continue to operate under the PIC (and penguin) brand, benefitting from increased access to long-term growth capital and enhanced asset origination expertise as part of Athora
- Acquisition to create a pan-European savings and retirement services champion, establishing a leading position in the UK Pensions market to complement Athora’s existing operations in the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Germany
London, 3 July 2025 – Athora Holding Ltd. (Athora or the Group) and Pension Insurance Corporation Group Limited (PICG), one of the UK’s leading pension solutions providers, today announced that Athora and the shareholders of PICG – Reinet Fund S.C.A., F.I.S.; a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA); funds managed by CVC Capital Partners (CVC) and HPS Investment Partners (collectively, the Consortium) – have entered into a definitive agreement for Athora to acquire PICG for approximately £5.7 billion. Upon completion, PICG will become Athora’s UK insurance business, operating under the Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) and penguin brands.
Athora is a leading European savings and retirement services business with €76 billion of Assets under Management and Administration (AuMA), serving approximately 2.8 million policyholders. Athora is backed by permanent capital owners, including a strategic minority investment by Apollo Global Management and Athene Holding Ltd, and long term institutional investors such as a wholly owned subsidiary of ADIA.
As a result of the transaction, PICG will become Athora’s UK subsidiary, maintaining its long tenured team, dedication to customer service, robust capitalisation and disciplined investment philosophy.
In addition, PIC is poised to benefit from broader resources, long-term growth capital, and enhanced asset origination capabilities, including in private investment grade credit resulting from Athora’s strategic relationship with Apollo. Together, Athora and PIC believe the combination will accelerate scaled, high-grade financing in the UK market, increasing productive investment in the economy and supporting retirement outcomes for pensioners.
The acquisition of PICG by the Athora Group will create one of Europe’s largest insured savings and retirement services businesses, building on existing subsidiaries in the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium and Germany.
Commenting on the acquisition, Mike Wells, Athora’s Group Chief Executive Officer, said:
“We are pleased for PICG to become Athora’s first UK insurance business, maintaining its great team, brand and utmost commitment to serving its customers. The acquisition by Athora will enhance access to long-term growth capital and asset origination capabilities, enabling PIC to serve more of the UK savings and retirement market, where it has already established itself as a top three provider in pension risk transfer.”
Wells continued, “Today, PIC is a significant investor in the UK economy and, as part of Athora, we believe it will play an even more meaningful role in providing long-duration financing for infrastructure and other long-term assets.”
Tracy Blackwell, CEO of PIC, said:
“PIC has had an amazing growth story over the past two decades and is now one of Britain's preeminent pension businesses. This success has been based on a simple purpose, which is to pay the pensions of our current and future policyholders. Athora’s investment is validation of what we have always believed: that PIC’s reputation, strategy, fortress balance sheet, purpose, and most importantly our people combine to make this a unique business in a huge and growing market.
“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 the UK economy and infrastructure. The pension risk transfer market is vital to the wellbeing of millions of UK pensioners and the allocation of tens of billions of pounds of investment into the UK’s economy. This acquisition and the potential for growth that it represents is, in our view, the strongest possible recognition of the value and importance of the pension risk transfer market, the sector that PIC helped to create and continues to lead.”
After adjusting for the acquisition, Athora will have approximately €1351 billion of AuMA, representing a 78% increase on the year-end 2024 level. The acquisition will be funded primarily by equity as well as long-term bank debt. Pro forma for the transaction, Athora expects to maintain solvency ratio above its target levels.
The proposed transaction is expected to close in early 2026. Completion of the transaction is contingent upon satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals from the PRA.
1 GBP/EUR exchange rate: 1.16891 as at 30 June, 2025 (SimCorp Accounting)