Rothesay Life Plc is leading the race to acquire a minimum of £10 billion of U.K. annuity assets from Prudential Plc, "people with knowledge of the matter" told Bloomberg News.
Others to have shown interest are Legal & General Group Plc, Lloyds Banking Group Plc's Scottish Widows Group Ltd. and Pension Insurance Corp. Plc, according to the report. Bids have been made for parts of the book as well as the entirety, with the portfolio believed to be valued at £1 billion to £1.5 billion.
The sources said no decision has been made and that one of the other contenders could still be selected.
Rothesay is owned by Blackstone Group LP, Singapore's GIC Pvt. Ltd. and Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co.
