Great-West grows in Ireland

Article Excerpt

Great-West just closed its $1.75-billion purchase of Irish Life Group, Ireland’s largest pension manager and life insurance provider, with one million clients and $50 billion of assets under management. Great-West has a long history of operating in Ireland, which cuts this deal’s risk. It expects Irish Life to immediately add to its earnings. GREAT-WEST LIFECO $30.31 (Toronto symbol GWO; Shares outstanding: 951.5 million; Market cap: $29.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Yield: 4.1%; www.greatwestlifeco.com) is Canada’s largest insurance company. It also offers mutual funds, retirement planning and wealth management. Power Financial owns 68.2% of Great-West. In the quarter ended June 30, 2013, earnings rose 6.8%, to $521 million, or $0.55 a share, from $488 million, or $0.51, a year ago. On June 30, Great-West had $596.0 billion of assets under administration. Earnings from the Canadian division, which supplies 54% of the total, rose 11.1%. Stronger sales of group policies offset lower demand for individual insurance. As well, the value of…