Cinven in talks to buy Guardian Life Insurance

Cinven is in exclusive negotiations to buy Guardian Life Insurance, in the first of an expected string of deals by the UK private equity group in the sector, the Financial Times reported.

Cinven has been given a few weeks by the seller to negotiate a more than £250 million deal to buy the 190-year old company, the FT said, citing people close to the situation.

UK-based Guardian Life was put up for sale last month by Aegon , the Dutch life assurer.

Cinven has outflanked other interested buyers such as Apollo Global Management, the private equity group, and Swiss Re, the reinsurer, in an auction run by Goldman Sachs.

Resolution, which was thought to be finished with deal making in UK life insurance, also looked at the business, according to two people familiar with the sale, cited in the FT.

Guardian, which has a portfolio of policies totalling around £300 million, was acquired by Aegon in 1999. Both Cinven and Guardian Life were unavailable for comment.