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Reuters
Britain’s Legal & General Group PLC and Swiss Re AG are among firms said to be weighing bids for Deutsche Bank AG’s Abbey Life Assurance Co, sources familiar with the matter said.
In September, it was reported that the German lender was exploring the possible sale of its British insurance unit Abbey Life.
Phoenix Group Holdings, Britain’s largest consolidator of closed life funds, was set to bid for Abbey Life, Sky News reported last month, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Phoenix Group said it does not comment on market speculation.
China’s Anbang Insurance Group is also said to be considering a bid for the insurance unit, a source familiar with the matter said.
Anbang declined to comment.
Deutsche Bank has been considering options for Abbey Life, a person familiar with the matter told last month, adding that a new regulation was making the business unattractive.
Abbey Life, which closed to new business in 2000, is composed mainly of unit-linked life and pensions policies and annuities.
Deutsche Bank, which bought Abbey Life from Lloyds TSB for £977 million in 2007, at that time around € 1.5 billion ($1.6 billion), was not reachable for comment.
Spokesmen for Swiss Re and Legal & General Group were not immediately available for comment.
Deutsche Bank AG is a German global banking and financial services company with its headquarters in the Deutsche Bank Twin Towers in Frankfurt. It has more than 100,000 employees in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and the emerging markets.
In 2009, Deutsche Bank was the largest foreign exchange dealer in the world with a market share of 21 percent. The company is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index. The bank offers financial products and services for corporate and institutional clients along with private and business clients. Deutsche Bank’s core business is investment banking, which represents 50 percent of equity, 75 percent of leverage assets and 50 percent of profits.