THE BREAK-UP of Equitable Life has moved closer following the launch yesterday of a vulture fund, Synesis, backed by some of the City's most powerful institutions, to buy out distressed annuity and pension liabilities, reports The Guardian .
According to the paper, Equitable is keen to offload its £7bn of annuities, and is also expected to sell the rest of its troubled assets. Speculation has until now focused on a deal with Prudential, which apart from Legal & General is the only company in the bulk annuity purchase market. Last June, Prudential snapped up £1.5bn in annuities from Resolution Life and in 2004 it bought £1bn-worth from Royal London. The team behind both deals quit Prudential six months ago and yesterday re-emerged as Synesis, with enough capital from the Royal Bank of Scotland and the private equity house Warb...
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