Shareholders back Standard Life Aberdeen’s £2bn insurance business sell-off
Standard Life Aberdeen shareholders overwhelmingly backed the £2bn sale of its insurance business to Phoenix today.
At its general meeting today 99.26 per cent of voters backed the deal which will see Phoenix acquire Standard Life Assurance Limited (SLAL), the company’s insurance arm.
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Phoenix has agreed to pay Standard Life Aberdeen £1.971bn upon completion of the deal which excludes a dividend of £312m paid by SLAL to Standard Life Aberdeen prior to completion.
Shareholders also voted by more than 99 per cent of voters to back a £1bn capital return via a B share scheme, in which new B shares will be granted which can then be redeemed for cash.
They also backed a capital return of up to £750m by way of share buyback through on-market purchases.
Standard Life Aberdeen will retain a nearly 20 per cent stake in the merged company and it was announced today that its pensions boss Barry O’Dwyer and head of distribution at Aberdeen Standard Investments Campbell Fleming will take seats on the board of Phoenix.
Read more: Standard Life Aberdeen plans to return £1.75bn to shareholders
Chairman of Standard Life Aberdeen Sir Gerry Grimstone said: "I'm pleased our shareholders have voted so decisively in favour of our proposals today. The sale of our UK and European insurance business to Phoenix is an important milestone in our company's history and marks a decisive break from our past as an insurer.
"It is an excellent result and demonstrates our shareholders' overwhelming support for our ambition to become one of the world's leading investment companies."