Swiss Re has admitted it is in talks over the potential merger of its remaining Admin Re closed life business with Phoenix Group, less than a year after selling the US side of the operation.
The reinsurance giant sold the US Admin Re business to Jackson National Life in Q3 last year, generating $626m for the firm.
In its quarterly figures, Swiss Re said that the Admin Re operation would "continue to explore new opportunities in the UK and continental Europe that meet Swiss Re group's investment criteria and return expectations".
The reinsurer has now admitted it is in preliminary talks over a potential merger with Phoenix Group Holdings, a closed life assurance fund consolidator.
Reports have suggested that a combined Admin Re and Phoenix would be valued at around £3bn.
In an analyst note, Shore Capital's Eamonn Flanagan said the deal would like be "win-win" for both parties.
"For Swiss Re it offers a solution for a business whose strategic direction within the parent was becoming uncertain; for Phoenix it facilitates a significant opportunity for synergy gains as well as providing a break in the hiatus of deal-flow for the group (due to the still high levels of debt and its lack of share price currency)," he said.
