An insurer that's owned by two Canadian pension plans has announced its second major U.S. life insurance company acquisition of the year.
Constellation Insurance Holdings Inc. has agreed to help Columbian Mutual Life Insurance Company of Binghamton, New York, shift to a stock charter and invest up to $100 million in cash in exchange for 100% of Columbian Mutual's stock.
In March, Constellation agreed to acquire another mutual life insurer, Ohio National Financial Services of Cincinnati, for $1 billion.
A mutual insurer is an insurance company that's owned by some or all of policyholders, rather than by public investors or other outside investors.
The Players
Columbian Mutual was founded in 1882. It now sells life insurance throughout the United States. It has about $1.8 billion in assets and 750,000 policyholders.
Constellation is a 2-year-old company with cash from Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board.
The Deal
The Constellation-Columbian deal calls for Columbian to use the cash that Constellation would provide to fund cash payments to eligible policyholders, and to improve Columbian's capitalization level and financial ratings.
Constellation said it plans to keep the Columbian brand and operate Columbian as a stand-alone company.
The companies said they expect to close on the deal between July 1, 2022, and Dec. 31, 2022.
Other Deals News
AmeriLife Group LLC has agreed to acquire Maximum Senior Benefits, a Pleasant Grove, Utah-based insurance marketing organization that distributes final expense insurance. Customers use final expense insurance to cover the cost of funerals, burials, cremations and other expenses associated with death.
