Apollo-backed Athora eyes £5bn deal for Pension Insurance Corporation

A savings and retirement services group backed by Apollo Global Management is plotting a multibillion pound takeover of Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), one of the City's biggest specialist insurers.

Sky News has learnt that Athora, which was established by Apollo, the US-based alternative investments giant, is in talks to acquire control of PIC. If successfully completed, the deal - which bankers estimate could be worth between £4bn and £5bn - would represent a landmark transaction in the pension risk transfer market.

Money latest: The sunscreens failing safety tests Companies such as PIC, Legal & General and Rothesay take over companies' defined benefit pension schemes and the assets behind them, and have grown significantly in the last decade. RSA, the insurer, and British American Tobacco are among the corporate names with which PIC has transacted.

It has also signed agreements with Chemring and Qantas. PIC's shareholders include CVC Capital Partners, BlackRock-owned HPS, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Reinet, a vehicle created from the restructuring of luxury goods group Richemont.

Further details of a potential deal between Athora and PIC, including its pricing and structure, were unclear on Friday. Apollo previously looked at an offer for PIC in 2023, with rival bidders including Carlyle and KKR also emerging.

Read more from Sky News:Sir Alan Bates backs Post Office Capture victims'Inflation and customer cutbacks' blamed for dive in retail salesGovt considers industrial energy cost aid The market for BGL annuities has exploded in recent years as companies seek to offload a variety of pension-related financial risks. PIC recently announced the retirement of its long-serving chief executive, Tracy Blackwell, and has yet to name her successor.

Spokespeople for Apollo and PIC declined to comment..