Rothesay Life PLC is pursuing a purchase of Swiss Re AG's U.K. closed life book consolidator, ReAssure Ltd., for £3.5 billion, Sky News reported.

The move would get in the way of a plan for a public stock market listing of ReAssure.

Rothesay Life reportedly approached Swiss Re a few weeks ago regarding a deal to purchase ReAssure. The result of the talks about the deal was unclear, according to the report, which stated that Rothesay Life was determined in making a formal offer in the next few months.

Swiss Re CEO Christian Mumenthaler previously mentioned that the company is "not the ideal majority shareholder" of ReAssure.