Life insurance and pensions giant Standard Life is buying the UK business of Dutch insurer Aegon.
Freshfields is serving as buyers’ counsel and an A&O Shearman team is advising the sellers.
Dutch insurance heavyweight Aegon is selling its UK business to FTSE 100 pensions and savings giant Standard Life, with Freshfields and A&O Shearman taking roles as lead advisers.
Slated to complete at the end of 2026, subject to approvals, the £2 billion acquisition comes as Aegon looks to reorient its focus to the US.
The deal will create a mega pensions, retirement and life insurance player with 16 million customers and around £480 billion of assets under management. Standard Life was known as Phoenix Group until a rebrand late last year.
The deal is the latest example of insurance companies looking to invest in UK pension assets - a trend that has generated a run of high-value mandates for law firms.
Apollo-backed Athora agreed to buy PIC in July last year for £5.7 billion, in a deal led by Sidley and Slaughter and May. That was followed by Brookfield’s insurance arm acquiring life insurer Just Group for £2.5 billion, with A&O Shearman and Slaughters enlisted.
Advising
Freshfields is advising Standard Life, with a team led by London partner George Swan with support from asset management partner Andy Robinson and equity capital markets partners Tom Godwin and Doug Smith.
Aegon is being advised by an A&O Shearman team led by London partners Matthew Hamilton-Foyn, Kate McInerney, and Philip Jarvis.
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