Standard Life has reported the sale of its Canadian business to The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation, for a total cash consideration of C$4bn (£2.2bn).
The business comprises Standard Life’s Canadian long-term savings and retirement, individual and group insurance business, Standard Life Financial, and Canadian investment management company Standard Life Investments Inc.
The company also confirmed that its global asset management business, Standard Life Investments, has entered into a “global collaboration agreement” with Manulife which is expected to return £1.75bn of capital to shareholders upon completion.
David Nish, group chief executive of Standard Life, said the transaction would accelerate the company’s growth and reduce capital intensity.
He added: “The proposed capital return of £1.75bn, equivalent to 73p per share, will take the total amount of dividends and returns to shareholders since 2010 to 147p per share.
“It is a reflection of our strong growth that operating profit from the businesses we retain following the sale are substantially higher than the whole group reported in 2010.”
In a statement, Standard Life confirmed the sale would allow it to further its strategy to focus on fee-based investment management and savings businesses, reduce its exposure to spread/risk income and advance Standard Life Investments’ global distribution and growth prospects via the agreement with Manulife.
