By Angela Chen
MetLife Inc. (MET) on Tuesday said it will provide pension
benefits for the beneficiaries of a TRW Automotive Holdings Corp.
unit in a $440 million deal that is the latest in a number of
high-profile pension shifts to insurers.
Car-parts maker TRW bought a group annuity contract from
MetLife, which will now take over pension payments to the 7,045
U.S. retirees and beneficiaries who are covered. The transaction
maintains the existing amount of the benefits.
"The buyout with TRW is one of several MetLife has closed over
the last few months," said Wayne Daniel, senior vice president of
U.S. pensions for MetLife.
Such buyouts are becoming increasingly common. In recent months,
Prudential Financial Inc. (PRU) reached two separate deals with
Motorola Solutions Inc. (MSI) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) to
shift a combined $4.5 billion in pension obligations to the
insurer. The arrangements represent one of the most-promising
growth areas for major life insurers.
TRW last month agreed to transfer about $4 billion of its U.K.
pension liabilities to a unit of life insurer Legal & General
Group PLC (LGEN.LN). TRW is in the process of being acquired by ZF
Friedrichshafen in a deal that will create the world's
second-largest automotive supplier by sales.
Last week, MetLife said its board approved another $1 billion
repurchase of its stock, as the company expects to be named
"systemically important" by a new panel of federal regulators and
therefore potentially subject to stiff but yet-to-be-determined
capital rules.
Write to Angela Chen at angela.chen@wsj.com
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