The Asda Group Pension Scheme has entered into a £3.8bn buy-in with Rothesay Life.

According to Sky News, Asda's parent company, Walmart, signed the deal to offload the pension liabilities in preparation for a potential stock market floatation.

The agreement is expected to cover around 12,000 scheme members and follows a series of bulk annuity deals completed by Rothesay Life.

The specialist insurer has completed deals worth more than more than £11bn in the past month, including with Telent and National Grid.

Commenting on the transaction, LCP partner, Charlie Finch, said: “This would be the tenth longevity transaction over £1bn so far this year, demonstrating the huge momentum behind the market as large companies such as Asda seek to de-risk their pension plans.

“Last year there were five £1bn+ transactions and only one the year before. We expect the market to top £35bn this year, up from £24.2bn last year.”

The deal is reportedly the first step on the scheme's de-risking journey to a full buyout.

Rothesay Life currently manages more than £50bn of pension scheme assets.

The deal is expected to be officially announced later today (18 October).

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