Swiss Re moves ahead with ReAssure IPO, increases capital by £481m ahead of listing

Swiss Re is moving forward with its  planned initial public offering (IPO) of UK closed life book business ReAssure.

The IPO registration document is expected to be filed today (June 07), pending the approval of the UK Financial Conduct Authority. Following which, ReAssure's ordinary shares would be listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.

Swiss Re announced in August 2018 that it was exploring a possible IPO of ReAssure, the business that focuses exclusively on the acquisition and management of closed books of life insurance policies. If ReAssure proceeds with the IPO, Swiss Re would seek to reduce its stake to below 50 percent from 75 percent currently.

In preparation for the planned IPO, ReAssure has been reorganised into a standalone group so that a more efficient and appropriate capital structure can be put in place. It includes a net increase of £481 million in ReAssure's capital position by its two shareholders (Swiss Re and MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings) in proportion to their current holdings.

In October 2017, Swiss Re reached an agreement with Japanese insurance group MS&AD for an investment into ReAssure of up to £800 million.

In December 2018, the company appointed Mark Hodges as new CEO of ReAssure, and recently appointed Archie Kane as non-executive chairman to oversee the preparations of the company's anticipated IPO.

Earlier in Jan 2019, it was reported that insurer Rothesay Life is mulling making a £3.5 billion bid for ReAssure.

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