Competition watchdog clears Aviva’s £460m acquisition of AIG Life

Aviva’s proposed £460 million takeover of AIG Life will not be referred to a phase two investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

In February, the CMA launched an initial investigation to assess whether the takeover could reduce competition in the UK services sector.

In September, FTSE 100-listed insurer Aviva announced the acquisition of AIG Life from Corebridge Financial, a subsidiary of American International Group, for £460 million.

Aviva shares increased by more than 19 percent in the past year.

The acquisition of AIG’s life insurance and pension services business is expected to add 1.3 million individual protection customers and 1.4 million group protection members to Aviva’s existing portfolio.

In September, Aviva’s boss, Amanda Blanc, said: ‘This acquisition brings significant strategic and financial benefits to Aviva.

‘It strengthens our prospects in the highly attractive UK protection market and continues our progress in repositioning the Group towards capital-light growth.

‘We look forward to welcoming our new customers and colleagues to Aviva.’

At the time, Peter Zaffino, chairman and CEO of AIG and chairman of Corebridge, said the deal would help the company focus on life and retirement products in the US.

Corebridge was formed in 2021 when AIG spun off its life and pensions business and sold part of the business to Blackstone for $2.2 billion.