Jackson Acquires SRLC From Swiss Re

Swiss Re will retain a portion of the SRLC business through reinsurance arrangements to be undertaken prior to the closing. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2012, Jackson officials said.

Jackson National is a wholly owned subsidiary of Prudential plc, based in London, the U.K.'s largest insurer by market value.

Mike Wells, president and CEO of Jackson, said, "the purpose of the deal is to diversify Jackson's earnings by increasing the amount of income we generate from underwriting activities thereby enhancing the quality of our earnings and our ability to remit more cash to our parent, Prudential plc."

Jackson National is a relatively minor player in the life insurance business, its officials said. The new acquisition is designed to enlarge the critical mass of this servicing business, according to a spokesman. The spokesman said that in 2004, Jackson National acquired the Life Insurance Co. of Georgia for the same reason.

However, it is the third-largest player in the U.S. variable annuity market. Its main business is variable, fixed and equity-indexed annuities, which its officials call "fixed-index" products.

SRLC's primary operating business is Reassure America Life Insurance Co. (REALIC). The focus of the company is to acquire existing life, term and variable life policies.

Since 1995, REALIC has completed a significant number of stock acquisitions and reinsurance arrangements through which it has acquired a diverse portfolio of traditional U.S. life insurance business, it says on its website.