England - London • Insurance

Linklaters LLP

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Linklaters LLP has insurance capabilities across a wide range of corporate transactions, namely M&A and reinsurance, but also advises insurance clients in relation to their capital market and pension de-risking matters. Duncan Barber lends his significant experience and eminent market reputation practice, with a recent track record in complex reinsurance and reorganisation matters, while Kanyaka Ramamurthi brings her experience on secondment to a leading insurer and broad expertise across corporate work for insurance clients. The wider firm’s pensions and capital market teams are also of note in this area. Former practice head Dan Schuster-Woldan  left the firm to join Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in February 2024.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'Lots of rich experience from a variety of scenarios.'
  • 'More pragmatic and real world rather than theoretical.'
  • 'Top quality regulatory capital markets practice that has been at the forefront of this market over the course of its continued evolution for a significant number of years.'
  • 'Accessible, quality advice. Problem management.'
  • 'Their level of specialist expertise in insurance debt capital markets is excellent. Insurance is not a well-understood sector and their ability to navigate the complexities of the sector (including unusual names in the sector such as a mutual) is impressive.'
  • 'Their experience of complex trades in the insurance sector is second to none. They are also extremely responsive and a pleasure to work with. The quality and clarity of their communication is excellent. '

Key clients

  • Phoenix Group
  • Ageas
  • Zurich
  • AXA
  • Lloyds Banking Group
  • QBE
  • Rothesay
  • Athora
  • Generali
  • Lombard International
  • Utmost
  • MS Amlin
  • Several private equity funds including; BC Partners, Carlyle, Oaktree, CDPQ, Warburg Pincus and Hg Capital

Work highlights

  • Advised Phoenix Group on its £248m acquisition of Sun Life of Canada UK.
  • Advising Phoenix Group in transferring a  long-term insurance business to Phoenix Life Assurance Europe dac by a Part VII transfer and parallel Irish law Scheme.
  • Advised on the sale and purchase of 100% of the Innovation Group to Allianz X.

Lawyers

Hall of Fame

The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.

Duncan Barber

Hall of fameLinklaters LLP

Duncan is a leading practitioner in the insurance sector. He has extensive experience in all types of corporate transactions within the sector, including public and private M&A, reinsurances, distribution arrangements, financings and securitisations. Duncan also advises on insurance regulation including the impact of the Solvency II Directive and the UK leaving the EU. Duncan has led on many of the transformative transactions within the insurance sector throughout the past 25 years, including advising on several of the demutualisations of the 1990s/early 2000s, on with-profits reorganisations by major insurers and on the increased use of longevity reinsurance as an innovative structure to reduce risk on pension fund liabilities. He has also advised on many transfers of life and non-life insurance business. Duncan is responsible for managing the firm’s relationships with several of the firm’s key insurer clients. He led the firm’s insurance sector group for 10 years. Duncan has advised or led on, many of the insurance sector’s highest profile transactions. These include advising:   Lloyds TSB (now Lloyds Banking Group) on its £7bn acquisition of Scottish Widows and the subsequent demutualisation, which, in addition to being a high-profile, high-value transaction, required the negotiation of bespoke protections for Scottish Widows’ policyholders, including negotiating with regulators a series of unprecedented capital reserves   Old Mutual on its takeover of the Swedish-headed global insurer Skandia, which was, at the time, the highest value takeover ever in the insurance sector. This involved preparing a UK prospectus for Old Mutual which, once approved in London, was then passported for use in Sweden and other European jurisdictions and also required obtaining regulatory approval in about 30 jurisdictions   Swiss Re’s “Admin Re” life and pensions business on its acquisition of Guardian Assurance from Cinven and management of Guardian Assurance, which involved detailed due diligence given Swiss Re was buying from private equity sellers, and was signed at a time when there remained uncertainty as to the approach being applied by the regulators to insurers under Solvency II including the subsequent Part VII transfer of the business of Guardian Assurance to ReAssure Limited   Aviva UK Life on the transfer of the whole of the long-term life insurance business of Friends Life Limited and Friends Life and Pensions Limited to Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited by way of a court-sanctioned insurance business transfer Scheme  the Association of British Insurers and various UK insurers on the implications of, and contingency planning for, Brexit  Generali Group on the disposal of its entire shareholding in Generali Nederland (and its subsidiaries) to ASR Nederland   Duncan is also a contributory author to A Practitioner’s Guide to The FSA Regulation of Insurance.

Other key lawyers

Duncan Barber, Kanyaka Ramamurthi