Pension Insurance Corporation Group Limited (PICG), the ultimate parent company of Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), the specialist insurer of UK defined benefit pension schemes, announced that Athora Holding Limited has agreed to acquire PICG for about £5.7 billion. And Athora is a leading pan-European savings and retirement services group with €76 billion of assets under management and administration, on behalf of 2.8 million policyholders.
The deal represents a major milestone for PIC, as it will be under a single strategic owner for the first time in its 20-year history. Following this acquisition, PIC will operate as the UK insurance business of Athora, retaining the PIC (and penguin) brand.
Athora, which also has insurance businesses in the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, and Germany, is backed by various investors, including Apollo Global Management and Athene Holding Limited, as well as a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).
The new group will have over €130 billion in assets, supporting the pensions of over three million savers and retirees across Europe. PIC will account for 45% of Athora’s total assets under management, positioning it as the largest and fastest-growing entity in the group.
PIC has a portfolio of £50.9 billion that backs the pensions of 400,000 individuals and has invested £30 billion in the UK, including £13.8 billion in housing and infrastructure. To date, it has paid out over £16 billion in pensions.
Current shareholders of PICG include Reinet Fund S.C.A., F.I.S. (49.5% of issued shares), ADIA’s subsidiary (18.4%), CVC Capital Partners (17.4%), and HPS Investment Partners (10.2%), with employees and others holding around 4%. The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in early 2026.
KEY QUOTES:
“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.”
Tracy Blackwell, CEO of PIC
“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.”
Mike Wells, CEO of Athora
“We have been invested in PICG since 2012, and have helped oversee a 900% 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.”
Dillie Malherbe, Director: Reinet Investments Manager
“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.”
Hamad Shahwan Aldhaheri, Executive Director of the Private Equities Department at ADIA
“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.”
Peter Rutland, Managing Partner at CVC
