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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OLDWICK - JULY 21, 2021 05:06 PM (EDT)
AM Best has commented that the Credit Ratings (ratings) of Great-West Lifeco Inc. (Lifeco) and its subsidiaries remain unchanged following the July 21, 2021 announcement that its U.S. subsidiary, Empower Retirement (legally known as Great West Life & Annuity Insurance Company) has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Prudential Financial, Inc.’s (Prudential) full-service retirement business for approximately CAD 4.45 billion (USD 3.55 billion).
Lifeco expects to fund the acquisition with approximately USD 1.15 billion of limited recourse capital notes and USD 1.0 billion of short-term debt, in addition to existing resources. While Lifeco’s financial leverage will initially increase to just over 30%, AM Best expects financial leverage and interest coverage ratios to improve relatively quickly as the acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings and short-term borrowings are paid down. AM Best notes that Empower Retirement has a favorable track record of successfully acquiring and integrating prior acquisitions and the acquisition of Prudential’s retirement business will significantly increase the company’s scale and market share in the full-service retirement space.
This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best’s Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best’s Credit Ratings, Best’s Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best’s Ratings & Assessments.
AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City.