Evonik Industries, Essen, Germany, secured the benefits for two of its global pension plans in the U.S. and the U.K. in two separate transactions, a spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday.
Evonik U.K. insured £544 million ($738 million) in liabilities of U.K. participants through a buy-in with Legal & General Assurance Society. It is Evonik's first buy-in transaction and covers the liabilities of 3,600 U.K. defined benefit plan participants, bringing the total U.K. pension liabilities insured to 100%. An earlier annuity deal covered the rest of the liabilities.
Separately, Evonik agreed to a $93 million buyout of its U.S. pension plan in September with Legal & General Retirement America, covering the benefits of more than 1,700 retirees.
"The company is pleased with the U.S. and U.K. transactions, which provide certainty for the members' pensions with a strong provider and reduce the financial risk to the sponsor," said Stefan Hentschel, global head of pensions at Evonik, in a news release Tuesday. "We were able to leverage the relationship and work effectively with Legal & General to complete both transactions and derisk the schemes in 2020."
Lane Clark & Peacock acted as lead transaction adviser, providing specialist derisking advice to the trustee of the U.K. plan, while law firm Hogan Lovells International provided legal advice. Also, Aon acted as actuary and investment adviser to the trustee of the plan.
Consultant Willis Towers Watson and law firm Eversheds Sutherland provided actuarial and legal advice , respectively, to Evonik. Law firm Clifford Chance provided legal advice to insurer Legal & General in the U.K.
