Aviva has retained a 24% stake in Friends Provident International Limited as it sold control for £259 million to International Financial Group.
The insurance giant had previously said it would sell 100% of its shareholding for £340 million. The completed deal comprises £209 million in cash and £50 million in deferred cash consideration.
Friends Provident, which was founded in Bradford in 1832, has traded as Friends Life since 2011 and was taken over by Aviva in 2014 in a transformative £5.6 billion deal that created the UK's largest insurance group.
Aviva said the sale would have minimal impact on its Solvency II capital surplus and IFRS book value. Last year, FPIL's operating profit was £128 million and net profit, which takes into account AVIF amortisation, was £2.5 million. FPIL did not remit any cash to Aviva in 2019.
New owner IFGL is a holding company based in the Isle of Man and manages £17 billion of assets.
Aviva said: "Aviva and IFGL have entered into a shareholders' agreement under which Aviva has certain ongoing commitments and customary rights given the minority shareholding. FPIL will continue to serve customers, partners and intermediaries as usual and there is no change to customers' policies as a result of today's announcement."
