New Zealand’s Tower sells remaining life business

New Zealand insurance company Tower has sold its remaining life business, Tower Life (NZ), to Foundation Life, for NZ$36 million ($31.5 million).

In January, Tower had made the decision to retain the life business. However, chief executive officer David Hancock said Tower had continued to receive approaches and assessed these against the potential shareholder value that could be delivered.

He added that the sale reflected Tower’s new focus as a pure-play general insurer, and its commitment to delivering value to shareholders.

“Tower is committed to delivering attractive shareholder returns by growing a general insurance business that is a leading light in New Zealand and the Pacific. We see opportunities for growth and are very focused on increasing our market share in general insurance, particularly in key personal lines. Tower Life (NZ) has performed well and delivered solid results, and we expect the business to continue to flourish under new ownership.

"Foundation Life came to us with a proposition that recognised appropriate value for shareholders," he said.

The prospective chairman of Tower Life (NZ), David Harrison, said: "The Foundation Life team is looking forward to working with the many stakeholders, including policy holders and staff, to further strengthen and improve the business."

Foundation Life is a private company that is focused on the acquisition and long term prudential management of life insurance portfolios which are no longer being actively marketed.