Sept 15 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank AG is nearing adeal to sell its British insurance business Abbey Life AssuranceCo to Phoenix Group Holdings, a person close to thematter told Reuters.
Britain's largest consolidator of closed life funds isplanning to raise 800 million pounds ($1.1 billion) to fund thepurchase, which will be finalised in the next couple of weeks,the person said.
Phoenix Group Holdings and Deutsche Bank declined tocomment.
The German lender began weighing the sale of Abbey Life inOctober last year, attracting interest from Swiss Re AG unit Admin Re, Phoenix and Legal & General Group Plc among others, sources familiar with the matter havetold Reuters.
In March, the Financial Conduct Authority launched aninvestigation into Abbey Life's treatment of long-time lifeinsurance customers which could result in compensation paymentsto policyholders or fines for the British insurer.
Abbey Life, which was bought by Deutsche Bank for 977million pounds in 2007, is valued at about 1 billion pounds($1.5 billion), sources told Reuters in June. (Reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru and ArnoSchuetze in Frankfurt; editing by David Clarke)
Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX)
Legal & General (LGEN)