Pan-European savings and retirement services group Athora Holding Limited has agreed to acquire Pension Insurance Corporation Group (PICG), the parent company of Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), for £5.7bn.

Marking the first time that PIC will be held by a single strategic owner, the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in early 2026.

Although it will become the UK insurance business of Athora, the group confirmed that it will continue operating under the PIC brand.

The transaction is expected to create a total group with assets of over €130bn, backing the pensions of more than three million savers and retirees across Europe.

This means that PIC will be 45 per cent of Athora’s total assets under management and administration, and is expected to be the largest and fastest growing business in the group.

The acquisition is also intended to increase PIC's ability to invest in UK housing and infrastructure as Athora supports PIC through the next phase of its growth, which is in turn expected to enable PIC to provide its best pricing across a larger number of pension risk transfer deals.

PIC currently has a portfolio of £50.9bn covering the pensions of 400,000 people, with £30bn invested in the UK, including £13.8bn in UK housing and infrastructure.

Commenting on the deal, PIC CEO, Tracy Blackwell, stated: “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 UK housing 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 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.

“Finally, I want to thank our exiting shareholders who have been absolutely brilliant in getting us to this point. I very much look to the next chapter in PIC’s story.”

Adding to this, Athora CEO, Mike Wells, said: “We are delighted to have agreed this transaction. We have followed PIC’s progress for several years and been consistently impressed by the very high-quality business the PIC team has built.

"As our UK subsidiary, PIC will be the largest business within the Athora Group and we intend to invest in the business and its people to support that growth in the UK pension risk transfer market. We have great confidence in the long-term strengths of the UK: its retirement market, regulatory and policy framework, and economic prospects.”

Athora, which has existing insurance businesses in the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium and Germany, is backed by permanent capital owners.

This includes a strategic minority investment by Apollo Global Management and Athene Holding Limited, and long-term institutional investors such as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

PICG’s current shareholders are Reinet Fund S.C.A., F.I.S. (Reinet) which holds 49.5 per cent of the issued shares, a wholly owned subsidiary of ADIA, with 18.4 per cent of the issued shares, funds managed by CVC Capital Partners (CVC), with 17.4 per cent, and funds managed by HPS Investment Partners with 10.2 per cent, as well as employees and other shareholders, who hold around 4 per cent of the issued shares.

Also commenting on the deal, Reinet Investments Manager director, Dillie Malherbe, stated: “We have been invested in PICG since 2012, and have helped oversee a 900 per cent increase in the size of the business since then, by size of financial investments.

"What has consistently impressed me about PIC is that, despite that amazing growth trajectory, it has maintained a relentless focus on outcomes for its policyholders. I want to thank Tracy, our fellow shareholders, and everyone at PIC for all their efforts over the past 13 years.”

Adding to this, ADIA executive director of the private equities department, Hamad Shahwan Aldhaheri, said: “As a shareholder in PICG since 2018, our investment supported the growth of the company as it strengthened its position as one of the leading players in the UK pension risk transfer market.

"Following this transaction, we will maintain exposure to the company via our existing shareholding in Athora, and believe that PIC has strong prospects for the future. We wish the company continued success as part of Athora.”

CVC managing partner, Peter Rutland, also welcomed the news, stating: “We are pleased to have utilised the longer duration capital of CVC’s Strategic Opportunities platform to partner with the team at PIC over the past eight years, during which time the company has scaled substantially and firmly established itself as a leading player in the UK pension insurance market.

"We wish the company every continued success under Athora’s ownership.”

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