AIB sells pensions division to Hibernian

THE white flag finally went up at AIB’s life and pensions subsidiary yesterday as the bank offloaded its struggling Ark Life business to Hibernian, one of the unit’s biggest rivals.

Hibernian Life & Pensions, the number three in the Irish market, will merge with Ark Life, which holds the number four position. AIB will receive €195 million in cash and a 24.99% stake in the merged business, with a further €10m to come if certain targets are met. It will record a once-off gain of €145m in the current year.

Hibernian, a subsidiary of Britain’s Aviva, will hold the remaining 75.01% of the enlarged business. It said the deal would create a new distribution channel that would fit well with its existing broker network.